Widow of late attorney files amended complaint against Stanislaus County

The widow of late attorney Frank C. Carson has filed an amended complaint against Stanislaus County and its longtime district attorney. The case stems from an alleged plot to frame Carson for murder.

Attorneys for Georgia Defilippo and the Carson estate submitted an amended complaint on Thursday. So did a different legal team representing two brothers who say they were framed as accessories to the crime. Estate of Frank Carson v. County of Stanislaus, 1:20-cv-00747-TLN-BAM (E.D. Cal., filed May 20, 2020) and Athwal v. County of Stanislaus, 1:15-cv-00311-TLN-BAM (E.D. Cal., filed Feb. 26, 2015).

Each claims District Attorney Birgit A. Fladager, law enforcement officers and others improperly sought to connect them to the 2012 disappearance of Korey Kauffman. A jury quickly acquitted Carson and several others of charges in 2019. Carson died last year at 66 of health problems his family said were "a direct result" of the 17 months he spent in jail.

U.S. District Court Judge Troy L. Nunley dismissed both cases with leave to amend in September. He wrote each complaint was an "impermissible shotgun pleading. Plaintiffs improperly attempt to assert nearly all of their claims against all defendants collectively and fail to allege facts specific to each defendant for each particular claim."

Carson's family brings eight claims, including wrongful death, false imprisonment and multiple constitutional civil rights claims. The Athwal brothers claim false imprisonment, malicious prosecution and violations of the Fourth and 14th Amendments. Attorneys for the Fladager, the county and others did not reply to emails seeking comment.

Carson was a criminal defense attorney. Fellow attorneys have told the Daily Journal he had an abrasive personality but won many of his cases. He ran unsuccessfully against Fladager in 2014. Fladager announced in September she would not seek reelection next year after serving since 2006.