Criminal Justice
Boston Lawyer Assault Case Dropped
Posted Jun 6, 2007, 08:50 pm CST
By Martha Neil
Charges reportedly have been dropped against a Boston lawyer who had been accused of groping a museum curator at an art gallery opening, after the alleged victim declined to go forward with the case.
Contention continues, however, as lawyers for both sides offered sharply different perspectives of the case, reports Massachusetts Lawyers Weekly:
Stephen T. Kunian, a partner of Eckert, Seamans, Cherin & Mellott, is the victim of a baseless claim, says his lawyer, Richard M. Egbert. “I called it a good old-fashioned shakedown from the beginning, and I haven’t changed my opinion."
But James S. Dilday, counsel for Gloretta Baynes, says his client "who has experienced substantial emotional damage, did not want to deal with a trial.” Nonetheless, "there is always a possibility of a civil suit," he adds.
Although Dilday reportedly at one point demanded a $500,000 settlement, and received a $25,000 counteroffer, in the end "We didn’t pay her a dime,” Egbert tells the publication. “We didn’t offer a dime.”