June 07 2007 - Wrongful death suit brought in Holloway case
A wrongful death lawsuit filed in Los Angeles against two Aruban brothers by the parents of Alabama teen Natalee Holloway was dismissed Friday by a judge.
Los Angeles Superior Court Judge Charles C. Lee granted a motion by Deepak and Satish Kalpoe to throw out the lawsuit brought by Elizabeth Ann Twitty and Dave E. Holloway because it has no connection to California and the court has no jurisdiction over the siblings.
Natalee was vacationing with friends on the Caribbean island resort when the 18-year-old disappeared the night of May 30, 2005.
The Kalpoes and another Aruban resident, Joran van der Sloot, have been the subject of scrutiny by Aruban authorities and the U.S. media. All three were arrested in connection with the girl's disappearance, but were later released.
The Kalpoes and van der Sloot have maintained that they were not involved in her disappearance and also have denied rumors and allegations they had sex with her.
According to court papers filed by the brothers' attorneys, an important ruling occurred Jan. 24 in another case involving the Kalpoes in which they sued "Dr. Phil" McGraw and CBS Television for defamation.
Los Angeles Superior Court Judge Edward A. Ferns ruled that the wrongful death claim of the teen's parents against the Kalpoes is substantially different from the defamation lawsuit against the celebrity doctor.
The Kalpoes allege they were defamed in a Sept. 15, 2005, "Dr. Phil" show that they maintain falsely suggested they gave Holloway a date rape drug and had non-consensual group sex with her.
The episode also implied the siblings helped kill Holloway and dispose of her body, according to the lawsuit, which is the subject of a hearing scheduled for Wednesday.
"These actions do not arise from the same or substantially identical transactions, happenings or events," Ferns wrote, in ruling that both cases should not be kept before the same judge.
In addition to defamation, the Kalpoes' suit alleges invasion of privacy, emotional distress, fraud, deceit and civil conspiracy.
William Cremer, an attorney representing the Kalpoes in both the wrongful death suit and the defamation case, said outside the courtroom that he is pleased with the ruling dismissing the suit by Natalee's parents.
"It was what we anticipated," Cremer said. "The only reason it was filed was to detract attention from the Dr. Phil case."
Cremer said the only proper place to file a wrongful death case would be in Aruba, but he said that also would be pointless.
"They don't have a shred of evidence against them," Cremer said. John Q. Kelly, an attorney for Twitty and Dave Holloway, said he was disappointed with the ruling and will talk with his clients about their future course of action, which could include an appeal.
"There are all kinds of promising issues," Kelly said. Natalee's parents were pessimistic about the chances of the lawsuit going forward, in part because their previous wrongful death suit, filed against van der Sloot last year in New York, also was dismissed, Kelly said.
Unlike the case against the Kalpoes, van der Sloot was personally served with the lawsuit against him during a visit to the U.S., Kelly said.
Twitty, of Alabama, and Holloway, of Mississippi, filed their suit against the Kalpoes the day after the brothers sued McGraw. The suit maintained they caused fatal injuries to Natalee, even though her body has never been found and Aruban authorities have not determined if she is dead or alive.
Twitty and Dave Holloway, who are divorced, maintained that by bringing an action against McGraw in Los Angeles, the Kalpoes voluntarily submitted themselves to the Los Angeles Superior Court jurisdiction.
But in their court papers, attorneys for the Kalpoes argued that Twitty and Holloway are not part of the defamation case; that the alleged misconduct by the defendants in the lawsuits occurred in two entirely different locations, Aruba and California; and that one suit involves wrongful death and the other defamation.
In support of their motion, the siblings' attorneys attached to their court papers a declaration by their mother, Kemwattie Ramirez, stating that her sons live with her in Aruba and have no ties to California.
"Neither Deepak nor Satish has ever traveled to California, or anywhere within the United States, for business or pleasure," according to their mother, who also said her sons have no business, employment of financial ties to California.
George "Jug" Twitty, Twitty's most recent husband and Natalee's stepfather, filed for divorce in December. Before the breakup, he and Elizabeth Twitty made numerous media appearances together after Natalee went missing.
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