Spotlight: Victims' families receive settlement for violent parolee's attacks

Law Reporter, Jun 2001 by Cragg, Jennifer L

VICTIMS FAMILIES RECEIVE SETTLEMENT FOR VIOLENT PAROLEE'S ATTACKS

Underdahl v. State, Wash., King County Super. Ct., Nos. 99-2-20542-1 KNT, 99-2-20537-5 KNT, Jan. 15, 2001.

Alice Underdahl was on a jogging trail in Kent, Washington, when she was sexually assaulted and murdered by Gary Wayne Puckett, a convicted rapist who was on parole. After the attack on Underdahl, Puckett traveled to North Dakota, where he attacked Julienne Schultz at a rest stop, cutting her throat. Puckett was subsequently stopped at a roadblock, where he shot himself.

Underdahl, 52, had been a flight attendant earning approximately $41,200 annually. She is survived by her husband and one adult daughter. Schultz, 35, suffered severe voice impairments, facial disfigurement and paralysis, partial loss of the use of her left arm, posttraumatic stress disorder, and depression. Her past and future medical expenses total about $476,000. She had been an assistant bank cashier earning about $18,600 annually. Unable to return to her position, Schultz returned to the bank in a different job several months after the attack. Schultz claimed lost earning capacity of about $226,700.

Schultz contacted ATLA members Kevin Coluccio and Paul Whelan to represent her and her three minor daughters in a suit against the state of Washington. Underdahl's husband, individually and on behalf of his wife's estate, and the couple's daughter subsequently contacted Coluccio and Whelan to handle their suit against the state department of corrections.

Plaintiffs alleged defendant had failed to properly investigate several serious incidents involving Puckett and did not adequately report his violations to the parole board. Defendant, plaintiffs claimed, failed to (1) make the required field visits to Puckett to ensure he was complying with his parole conditions, (2) monitor Puckett for behavior and risk factors, and (3) adhere to a strict supervision plan after a corrections officer classified Puckett as needing maximum supervision.

Defendant denied that its supervision was inadequate. Additionally, defendant initially denied that Puckett had murdered Underdahl or attacked Schultz, despite the fact that Underdahl's husband and daughter encountered Puckett near the murder site, numerous independent witnesses identified him as being present at the site, and Puckett confessed the murder to his wife. Moreover, Schultz identified Puckett as her attacker.

Plaintiffs' counsel noted that one of the biggest obstacles they had to overcome was establishing causation. Defendant argued that plaintiffs could not establish that Puckett's parole should have been revoked because the state parole board-which is immune from liability-is charged with those decisions, not the department of corrections.

Plaintiffs countered this contention by establishing that the department was the "eyes and ears" of the board. The parole board's failure to revoke Puckett's parole, plaintiffs said, was based solely on the department's failure to properly investigate Puckett's numerous violations. In addition, department agents assured the board that they would closely supervise Puckett and make sure he was in therapy. They failed to do both, plaintiffs claimed.

The parties settled for $8.8 million, divided equally between the families. Schultz received $3.4 million, and her daughters received approximately $333,300 each. Underdahl's husband and daughter received $2.2 million each.

Plaintiffs' experts included William Stough, parole supervision; Lowell Bassett, economics; and Anthony Choppa, vocational counseling-all of Seattle, Washington-- Alvin Cohn, criminal justice administration, Rockville, Maryland; Stephen Hart, psychology/criminal justice, Burnaby, British Columbia, Canada; and Donald Dutton, psychology, Vancouver, British Columbia, Canada.

Defendant's expert witnesses included Richard Hooper, corrections, Seattle; Kevin McGovern, psychology, Portland, Oregon; William Partin, economics, Bellevue, Washington; and Jacqueline Helfgott, criminal justice, Federal Way, Washington.

Coluccio believes this case "has brought to light the egregious failures of the department of corrections. The department constantly gives the offender the benefit of the doubt without considering the safety of our communities. With this case in mind, however, the department will begin to make changes."

Comment: See also Doe v. Whatcom County, 43 ATLA L. Rep. 140 (May 2000), and Blair v. State, 43 ATLA L. Rep. 19 (Feb. 2000). Plaintiff in Doe was represented by *Mark Leemon, Seattle, Washington, and J. Timothy Slater, Bellingham, Washington. Plaintiffs in Blair were represented by *Patrick J. McGroder III, Suzanne P. Clarke, *Jeffery J. Hernandez, and *Robert W. Goldwater, all of Phoenix, Arizona. Documents in Doe and Blair are available through the Litigation Resources section in the back of this issue, courtesy of plaintiffs' counsel.