G.E. Scott v. Jill Scott-Chance, Ian Lockhon, Esq., and Donald Mellin
Published: Jun. 20, 1998 | Result Date: Jun. 5, 1998 | Filing Date: Jan. 1, 1900 |Case number: 710779 Verdict – $690,300
Judge
Court
San Diego Superior
Attorneys
Plaintiff
Eugene G. Iredale
(Iredale & Yoo APC)
Douglas S. Gilliland
(The Gilliland Firm)
Defendant
Sandra K. Brislin
(Muhar, Garber, Av & Duncan)
Experts
Plaintiff
Barbara Funkenstein
(technical)
Facts
In 1981, plaintiff G.E. Scott married defendant Jill Scott-Chance. After marriage, they had two sons, Nick and Chase. In 1991, the Scotts separated. That same year, Scott-Chance was crowned Mrs. America. In 1992, Scott-Chance filed for divorce and the divorce became final that year. The parties stipulated that G.E. Scott would pay Scott-Chance $400 per month in child support. Scott-Chance took sole physical custody of son Chase Scott, and G.E. Scott took sole physical custody of son Nick Scott. Over the next several years, the plaintiff's $400 child support payments were sporadic. In 1996, Scott-Chance married a wealthy Phoenix entrepreneur, C. Richard Chance. At that time, Scott-Chance and her son Chase moved into C. Richard Chance's Paradise Valley estate. At the same time, the plaintiff had moved to rural Kansas. He was working in a Taco Bell and raising Nick Scott. By mid-1996, the plaintiff owed approximately $10,000 in back-due child support. On Nov. 2, 1996, San Diego Union Tribune columnist Don Bauder wrote an article about defendant Scott-Chance's new marriage. In that article, Bauder noted several legal battles involving the defendant, including the lawsuit filed against her by the Mrs. America pageant, which resulted in a $100,000 judgment against her, a welfare fraud investigation and a suit filed against her in Arizona for signing a contract to make a pornographic movie and then refusing to perform after taking a $5,000 up-front payment. The defendant reportedly blamed the plaintiff for leaking the article to the press. Several days later, defendant and C. Richard Chance hired bounty hunters to arrest the plaintiff in Kansas. The bounty hunters killed the plaintiff's dog, shackled the plaintiff and drove him in the back of a Ford Mustang from Fort Scott, Kansas to San Diego. The San Diego County Jail admitted the plaintiff into the jail on a warrant of attachment for failure to pay $7,800 back-due child support. After the plaintiff spent six days in the county jail, Judge Janis Sammartino released him on his own recognizance, stating that back-due child support is not an extraditable offense. The court appointed attorney Barbara Funkenstein to represent the plaintiff against contempt charges for failure to pay back-due child support. The contempt was ultimately dismissed by the court. Additionally, the court terminated the plaintiff's obligation to pay any additional child support to defendant due to her changed circumstances and equal ability to earn a living. The plaintiff then brought this action against his former wife, her attorney, and the bounty hunters based on false imprisonment and abuse of process theories of recovery.
Settlement Discussions
The plaintiff made a pre-trial settlement demand for $125,000. The defendants made a C.C.P. º998 offer of compromise for $5,000, later withdrawn before trial.
Other Information
The verdict was reached approximately one year after the case was filed. A mandatory settlement conference was held before court appointed mediators Peter Dean and LLoyd Yost resulting in no settlement. At that time, the plaintiff demanded $100,000 and the defense made no offers.
Deliberation
3½ days
Poll
12-0 (on liability); 9-3 (punitive damages against Jill Scott-Chance); 10-2 (punitive damages against Ian Lockhon); 12-0 (punitive damages against Donald Mellin)
Length
three days
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