By Susan Payne
Judgment before trail is at request of the three sisters of Timothy Dean, who died in the apartment of former WeHo resident and Democratic donor Ed Buck.
The sisters — Joyce Jackson, Joann Campbell and Retha Singleton — are seeking judgment before trial on three of their eight civil suit claims against Buck including wrongful death, drug dealer liability and premises civil liability, according to the Los Angeles Blade.
In court papers filed with Santa Monica Superior Court Judge H. Jay Ford III in March, the plaintiff’s attorney argues that Buck’s conviction in the death of their brother already proves their claims, the Blade reported. They maintain that these issues were conclusively determined during Buck’s criminal trial and are conclusive with respect to Buck’s civil liability.
Dean’s sisters filed the original lawsuit in 2020 and alleges that Buck injected 55-year-old Timothy Dean on Jan. 7, 2019, with a lethal dose of crystal methamphetamine, according to the Blade. In the court papers, Buck is described as a “wealthy white man who has a well-documented history of isolating black men for perverted sexual encounters.”
Vials, syringes and containers of narcotics were recovered throughout Buck’s residence, according to the lawsuit. The Los Angeles County coroner’s office concluded that Dean’s death was caused by an accidental overdose, the Blade reported.
The hearing is scheduled for June 27. If the motion is granted, the plaintiffs’ remaining causes of action against Buck — sexual battery, assault, battery, hate violence and intentional infliction of emotional distress — will be left for trial, the Blade said.
