Justice for Sharon: the dog-mauling trial ended with guilty verdicts, but for Sharon Smith, partner to the woman killed, another legal battle is about to begin. (Court).With Marjorie Knoller Marjorie Knoller (born c. 1946) is an attorney who was initially convicted of 2nd degree murder and manslaughter after her two Presa Canario dogs mauled her neighbor, Diane Whipple, to death in their San Francisco, California apartment building on January 26, 2001. and Robert Noel Robert John Baptist Noel MA, MPhil (b. 15 October 1962) is an officer of arms at the College of Arms in London. Robert Noel is the son of Hon. Gerard Eyre Wriothesley Noel, of Westington Mill, Chipping Campden, and grandson of the fourth Earl of Gainsborough. now awaiting their May 10 sentencing for the infamous dog-mauling death of their neighbor Diane Whipple, lawyers for Whipple's partner, Sharon Smith, have turned their attention to her pending wrongful-death civil suit. But this time Knoller and Noel aren't the sole defendants. Smith is also seeking damages against Rudolph Koppl and his wife, Annette Pucci-Koppl, owners of the San Francisco apartment building where the January 2001 attack took place. Attorney Michael Cardoza is overseeing Smith's legal team, which includes representatives of the National Center for Lesbian Rights The National Center for Lesbian Rights (NCLR) is a non-profit, public interest law firm that litigates precedent-setting cases at the trial and appellate court levels, advocates for equitable public policies affecting the LGBT community, provides free legal assistance to LGBT . "I call this the A team," Cardoza said. "A for Alexis. Diane Alexis Whipple." The civil proceedings, for which a date has not yet been set, will focus on Koppl's negligence, since he was aware of the dogs' viciousness, Cardoza contends. "What the landlord did [by allowing Noel and Knoller to keep the dogs] was unconscionable Unusually harsh and shocking to the conscience; that which is so grossly unfair that a court will proscribe it. When a court uses the word unconscionable to describe conduct, it means that the conduct does not conform to the dictates of conscience. ," Cardoza said. The civil suit includes both survivor and wrongful-death actions and is the first time in California someone is being allowed to sue for the wrongful death The taking of the life of an individual resulting from the willful or negligent act of another person or persons. If a person is killed because of the wrongful conduct of a person or persons, the decedent's heirs and other beneficiaries may file a wrongful death action of a same-sex partner same-sex partner Social medicine A domestic partner of the same genotypic sex. See Homosexual. . Smith could be awarded a variety of damages under the wrongful-death action, including for the loss of her relationship and the loss of income Whipple would have contributed to their household, according to the NCLR's Kate Kendell. But the largest damages being sought are punitive damages Monetary compensation awarded to an injured party that goes beyond that which is necessary to compensate the individual for losses and that is intended to punish the wrongdoer. , which are harder to get "because the jury [must] be convinced that an award is warranted to punish the defendants for their bad actions," Kendell said. Smith has said that any financial award she receives will go to a nonprofit foundation in Whipple's name. Though the now-broke Knoller and Noel may take a backseat to the Koppls in the civil proceedings, Cardoza and Kendell stress that they are far from off the hook. "Sharon is intent on maintaining action against [them], even if it means not [receiving money]," Kendell said. "It's the message of holding them accountable that she wants to send." |
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