Auction House Settles Wrongful Death Suit in Fang Home Invasion; Hinton & Alfert Says Case is a Warning to Employers on Hiring Procedures

Business Wire, August 9, 2002

Business Editors & Legal Writers

WALNUT CREEK, Calif.--(BUSINESS WIRE)--Aug. 9, 2002

Hinton & Alfert, a leading national law firm, announced today it has reached a settlement in its multimillion-dollar wrongful death suit against a Santa Clara auction house that hired a convicted felon as a delivery man who staged a deadly home invasion robbery at a customer's house.

The ex-con, Mesa Kasem, and retired East Bay plastic surgeon Kim Fang were both killed during the assault at the doctor's exclusive Alamo home in January 2000. The suit, on behalf of Fang's widow, Winnie, their two children, her brother and a nanny, claimed Somerset Auctions failed to use reasonable care to discover Kasem's violent criminal background, which included a felony conviction for shooting at a woman in a home.

For that matter, the suit claimed, Somerset failed to conduct any background checks on job applicants, with the exception of one employee hired for inventory control.

The civil trial in the lawsuit was set to begin Monday in Santa Clara County Superior Court. The amount of the settlement was not disclosed.

"This is a strong message to companies to be very careful when hiring workers that will enter private homes," said attorney Peter Hinton, who represented the plaintiffs with his partner, Peter Alfert. "A routine background check costing under $50 would have revealed Kasem's violent criminal past. In fact, a simple reference check or even a free Internet search using Kasem's name would have revealed the same information.

"This settlement is also a strong victory for people concerned about feeling safe in their own homes when they open their doors to deliverymen, carpet cleaners, painters, handymen, and other types of workers."

Kasem had made a delivery for Somerset to the Fangs' residence on November 10, 1999. A few weeks later, he recruited another Stockton gang member, Soknoeun Nem, to join him in a robbery at the home. Nem was not a Somerset employee.

On the evening of January 4, 2000, the two gunmen barged into the Fang home and pistol-whipped Fang's wife, her brother, Richard Law, and the nanny, Mee Yung Lee. Hearing the commotion upstairs, Fang, an accomplished marksman, opened fire with his own weapon, killing Kasem instantly. Kasem's accomplice, Nem, then shot Fang twice in the back. Although mortally wounded, Fang overpowered Nem in a violent struggle and, with Law's aid, held him until police arrived.

Nem was convicted of first-degree murder in Contra Costa County Superior Court on June 18 of this year, but the jury spared his life in the penalty phase of the trial. He is due to be sentenced on August 30 to life in prison with no possibility of parole.

Hinton & Alfert is among the nation's preeminent legal firms of its kind, recognized nationally for its successful representation of victims in cases involving catastrophic injuries.

Based in Walnut Creek, California, the firm has won multi-million dollar verdicts and settlements for its clients in such prominent disasters as the Cypress Freeway collapse in Oakland during the 1989 Loma Prieta earthquake, the Oakland Hills fire of 1991 and the 1999 explosion and fire at the Tosco refinery in Martinez, California. In just over the past year, Hinton & Alfert has won cases totaling more than $40 million.