Estate of Rebecca Zahau et al v. Shacknai et al

[Gilgamesh]

http://radaronline.com/exclusives/2...jonah-shacknai-wrongful-death-lawsuit-family/

Waiting to hear either side make media comments soon.

And, what I see in comments on nearly every article (hundreds of comments) is that almost no one believes this was anything but murder. So, it isn't just the choir claiming this is not a suicide.

I, too, have been reading comments from 100's of people and most are derisive in their observations that this was declared a suicide. People just don't buy it.
I am happy knowing that the vicious posters who attack others cannot hit every single comment board. It would be like trying to plug the dike with their fingers when the holes keep appearing.

KZ, nice to see you back.

 

[Gilgamesh]

I do expect to see a counter suit from Dina. What would be the latest date it could appear under the SOL?

 

[time]

I do expect to see a counter suit from Dina. What would be the latest date it could appear under the SOL?

Tomorrow I believe? The 16th, two years from the date he was officially pronounced dead.

I hope Dina files because it will bring more attention to both cases again, but now more of the spotlight will be on her as under suspicion of murder than before. And, Dina will have to pay for both cases one way or the other.

 

[time]

<snip>
I am happy knowing that the vicious posters who attack others cannot hit every single comment board. It would be like trying to plug the dike with their fingers when the holes keep appearing.

Good grief I just looked again. Looks more like one poster having a complete meltdown? If that isn't telling, I don't know what is.

 

[Peaceful]

Good grief I just looked again. Looks more like one poster having a complete meltdown? If that isn't telling, I don't know what is.

Just curious Time, any particular websites you are looking at with the comments?

 

[Peaceful]

I am just wondering if anyone knows if this new lawsuit will definitely progress. I know I have gotten my hopes up before only to have requests denied (by the AG, etc) for further investigation. Because this is a civil suit, will the Zahau's for sure be able to pursue this or is there some chance it could be dismissed? Thanks for any info.

 

[time]

Just curious Time, any particular websites you are looking at with the comments?

This one, but there may be others.
http://discussions.latimes.com/20/l...eath-lawsuit-murder-rebecca-zahau-20130714/10

 

[time]

I am just wondering if anyone knows if this new lawsuit will definitely progress. I know I have gotten my hopes up before only to have requests denied (by the AG, etc) for further investigation. Because this is a civil suit, will the Zahau's for sure be able to pursue this or is there some chance it could be dismissed? Thanks for any info.

I had the same question. I think AZLawyer would come answer if you asked here:

[ame="http://www.websleuths.com/forums/showthread.php?t=202857"]Curiosity Never Kills the Cat: Legal Questions for VERIFIED LAWYERS - Websleuths Crime Sleuthing Community[/ame]

 

[2Hip2BSquare]

Estate of Rebecca Zahau et al v. Shacknai et al

http://dockets.justia.com/docket/california/casdce/3:2013cv01624/419200/


Plaintiffs: Estate of Rebecca Zahau , Estate of Robert Zahau , Mary Zahau-Leohner and Pari Z. Zahau

Defendants: Adam Shacknai, Dina Shacknai, Nina Romano and Does 1 through 50, inclusive

Case Number: 3:2013cv01624
Filed: July 12, 2013

Court: California Southern District Court
Office: San Diego Office
County: San Diego
Presiding Judge: Thomas J. Whelan
Referring Judge: Nita L. Stormes

Nature of Suit: Torts - Injury - Other Personal Injury
Cause: 28:1332 Diversity-Personal Injury
Jurisdiction: Diversity
Jury Demanded By: Plaintiff


View attachment 35666

THANK YOU, Quester!!!

Yes! I knew something was rotten in Denmark from the first day I heard of her passing 2 years ago!

Woke up to this news and was ELATED that the wheels of justice are still rolling for her!

 

[2Hip2BSquare]

Tomorrow I believe? The 16th, two years from the date he was officially pronounced dead.

I hope Dina files because it will bring more attention to both cases again, but now more of the spotlight will be on her as under suspicion of murder than before. And, Dina will have to pay for both cases one way or the other.

Good point. I really hope the sons case is called into question as well.

 

[Carioca]

I am just wondering if anyone knows if this new lawsuit will definitely progress. I know I have gotten my hopes up before only to have requests denied (by the AG, etc) for further investigation. Because this is a civil suit, will the Zahau's for sure be able to pursue this or is there some chance it could be dismissed? Thanks for any info.

Hi Peaceful ~ Hate to rain on the parade, but I seriously suspect that Gore, his cohorts, and Dumanis are already behind the scenes maneuvering to get the case thrown out of court. IMO, as well as other opinions I've read, they will pressure the feds and pull every string in the book to make this case go away.

A lot will depend on the judge. According to the lawsuit filing, Clinton-appointed Thomas Whelan is presiding judge, with Nita Stormes as referring judge. Correct me if I'm wrong, but I understand it is possible neither of these judges will necessarily be the sitting judge. Regardless who the judge turns out to be, and I am quoting someone else when I say: "I hope he/she is strong enough to withstand all the forces of he** being thrown at him/her."

 

[Zinn]

Hi Peaceful ~ Hate to rain on the parade, but I seriously suspect that Gore, his cohorts, and Dumanis are already behind the scenes maneuvering to get the case thrown out of court. IMO, as well as other opinions I've read, they will pressure the feds and pull every string in the book to make this case go away.

A lot will depend on the judge. According to the lawsuit filing, Clinton-appointed Thomas Whelan is presiding judge, with Nita Stormes as referring judge. Correct me if I'm wrong, but I understand it is possible neither of these judges will necessarily be the sitting judge. Regardless who the judge turns out to be, and I am quoting someone else when I say: "I hope he/she is strong enough to withstand all the forces of he** being thrown at him/her."

I'm trying to remain hopeful based on a trend I'm seeing in the media. If you think it's my imagination, feel free to say so. Over the last couple months, I've noticed many fewer instances of aggressive posters repeating talking points on articles related to Rebecca's death. And while the articles posted a couple months ago seemed to have been somewhat hidden (not showing up on Google searches, for instance), this new story is everywhere, and I'm not (yet) seeing competing articles with the intent of shifting the focus. Maybe we'll see these new articles being pulled or poorly indexed over the next few days, I don't know. But I wonder what has caused the change in behavior by those who were previously posting so aggressively and those who were previously working to keep this type of news out of the media. I'm hoping at the very least it's a sign that the Zahau family's legal action is being taken seriously. It would be even better to learn that someone involved has decided to stop obstructing and start cooperating, but that's just my imagination running wild.

All of the above is just my opinion.

 

[Gilgamesh]

I'm trying to remain hopeful based on a trend I'm seeing in the media. If you think it's my imagination, feel free to say so. Over the last couple months, I've noticed many fewer instances of aggressive posters repeating talking points on articles related to Rebecca's death. And while the articles posted a couple months ago seemed to have been somewhat hidden (not showing up on Google searches, for instance), this new story is everywhere, and I'm not (yet) seeing competing articles with the intent of shifting the focus. Maybe we'll see these new articles being pulled or poorly indexed over the next few days, I don't know. But I wonder what has caused the change in behavior by those who were previously posting so aggressively and those who were previously working to keep this type of news out of the media. I'm hoping at the very least it's a sign that the Zahau family's legal action is being taken seriously. It would be even better to learn that someone involved has decided to stop obstructing and start cooperating, but that's just my imagination running wild.

All of the above is just my opinion.

They're working full time on their defense? Lol

 

[Zinn]

They're working full time on their defense? Lol

IMHO, that would be an improvement over the arrogance of the "talking points" strategy we've seen so far.

 

[Peaceful]

Hi Peaceful ~ Hate to rain on the parade, but I seriously suspect that Gore, his cohorts, and Dumanis are already behind the scenes maneuvering to get the case thrown out of court. IMO, as well as other opinions I've read, they will pressure the feds and pull every string in the book to make this case go away.

A lot will depend on the judge. According to the lawsuit filing, Clinton-appointed Thomas Whelan is presiding judge, with Nita Stormes as referring judge. Correct me if I'm wrong, but I understand it is possible neither of these judges will necessarily be the sitting judge. Regardless who the judge turns out to be, and I am quoting someone else when I say: "I hope he/she is strong enough to withstand all the forces of he** being thrown at him/her."

Thank you Carioca. That was my fear and although I agree that the public opinion continues to support further investigation, I don't know it will overshadow the control the Shacknai's $$$ has. It's disgusting to think this could happen in America but there is no denying it has. At least that's my opinion and only my opinion.

 

[time]

Thank you Carioca. That was my fear and although I agree that the public opinion continues to support further investigation, I don't know it will overshadow the control the Shacknai's $$$ has. It's disgusting to think this could happen in America but there is no denying it has. At least that's my opinion and only my opinion.

Not that my opinion on this counts for a lot, but I don't think Shacknai $$$ will NOT affect the decision on this. I'm not sure it did in the first place, but things could have gone the other way if Jonah insisted this was a murder in the first place.

I think what happened at the San Diego Sheriff's offict is that they found out they could rule it a suicide and get away with it, so they did. So far they have gotten away with it. It's easier, they close the case and any messiness associated with it is avoided and they save a ton of resources.

They did not want to keep this case open, simple as that, even if it was to say it could not be determined.

It also happened in a tourist area and a murder is bad for business, let alone an unsolved one. I'm not saying it is unsolvable at all, I think they could have convicted someone of murder. They just did't want to put their time and resources into what could be a long and difficult case and the DA didn't want to go up against possible money which means lots of independent testing and experts (even if that was Dina's money, it's more than the average criminal has). I think the DA was in on this early on.

What I do think is that the judge will probably seriously consider the suit to go forward (if that is the next step). I don't know if it will convince him with just the few pages we see though. I hope they have attached all the other work on this case or will, e.g., Marty and Ann's efforts. Or he sees the discovery as necessary. I think going against law enforcement and a medical examiner could be relevant - mostly I don't think judges and so forth like to do that. But since this is a civil case, it's probably different.

The one injustice (other than murder) that strikes me the most and I would think is pertinent from a legal perspective is denying the Zahau's and their attorneys access to evidence since SDSO is claiming this is a closed case and was not even criminal in nature. That just smells HINKY all over the place.

 

[*Lash*]

Not that my opinion on this counts for a lot, but I don't think Shacknai $$$ will NOT affect the decision on this. I'm not sure it did in the first place, but things could have gone the other way if Jonah insisted this was a murder in the first place.

I think what happened at the San Diego Sheriff's offict is that they found out they could rule it a suicide and get away with it, so they did. So far they have gotten away with it. It's easier, they close the case and any messiness associated with it is avoided and they save a ton of resources.

They did not want to keep this case open, simple as that, even if it was to say it could not be determined.

It also happened in a tourist area and a murder is bad for business, let alone an unsolved one. I'm not saying it is unsolvable at all, I think they could have convicted someone of murder. They just did't want to put their time and resources into what could be a long and difficult case and the DA didn't want to go up against possible money which means lots of independent testing and experts (even if that was Dina's money, it's more than the average criminal has). I think the DA was in on this early on.

What I do think is that the judge will probably seriously consider the suit to go forward (if that is the next step). I don't know if it will convince him with just the few pages we see though. I hope they have attached all the other work on this case or will, e.g., Marty and Ann's efforts. Or he sees the discovery as necessary. I think going against law enforcement and a medical examiner could be relevant - mostly I don't think judges and so forth like to do that. But since this is a civil case, it's probably different.

The one injustice (other than murder) that strikes me the most and I would think is pertinent from a legal perspective is denying the Zahau's and their attorneys access to evidence since SDSO is claiming this is a closed case and was not even criminal in nature. That just smells HINKY all over the place.

BBM - I agree and even though the AG declined to reopen the case, she did help the Zahau's retrieve 2 interviews that SDSO did not include in the investigative file the family received. In my opinion, very significant. The fact SDSO suppressed evidence from the Zahau family has another stinky HINKY smell.

 

[time]

BBM - I agree and even though the AG declined to reopen the case, she did help the Zahau's retrieve 2 interviews that SDSO did not include in the investigative file the family received. In my opinion, very significant. The fact SDSO suppressed evidence from the Zahau family has another stinky HINKY smell.

I think that is a very positive sign that the AG did cooperate and try to help the Zahaus. As I said, it is very rare that any case (even a suicide) gets overturned. It's just the nature of the beast and very unfortunate in this case and many others. I hope the tide is turning though.

I think this case is very similar to wrongful conviction cases in that respect (only a reverse legal opinion). Once a conviction is made, the doors close shut basically and the rules make it nearly impossible to ever get a new trial or exoneration. I just had never pondered how weird it really is when a case is unjustly ruled a suicide - there is NO day in court, NO discovery other than LE, NO jury, and NO judge. I hope the judge see this as grossly unjust given the known facts of Rebecca's case.

 

[*Lash*]

Does this seem odd? This was the first MSM article to make this correction, it now seems many more are doing the same. The correction is all about the Patch reporting before U-T.

Correction: Mansion Death-Lawsuit story
| July 14, 2013 | Updated: July 16, 2013 2:03pm

SAN DIEGO (AP) &#8212; In a July 14 story about a lawsuit filed by the family of a 32-year-old woman whose body was found hanging at a mansion in Coronado, Calif., The Associated Press erroneously reported that U-T San Diego was first to report the legal development. The Coronado Patch reported on the lawsuit prior to U-T San Diego.

http://www.chron.com/news/crime/article/Correction-Mansion-Death-Lawsuit-story-4664665.php

 

[Quester]

Does this seem odd? This was the first MSM article to make this correction, it now seems many more are making this correction. The correction is all about the Patch reporting before U-T.

Correction: Mansion Death-Lawsuit story
| July 14, 2013 | Updated: July 16, 2013 2:03pm

SAN DIEGO (AP) &#8212; In a July 14 story about a lawsuit filed by the family of a 32-year-old woman whose body was found hanging at a mansion in Coronado, Calif., The Associated Press erroneously reported that U-T San Diego was first to report the legal development. The Coronado Patch reported on the lawsuit prior to U-T San Diego.

http://www.chron.com/news/crime/article/Correction-Mansion-Death-Lawsuit-story-4664665.php

Apparently AP incorrectly attributed first reporting of suit so now all the publications that went with the original story are having to re-post the correction. :giggle: => More publicity!

http://hosted.ap.org/dynamic/storie...LAWSUIT?SITE=AP&SECTION=HOME&TEMPLATE=DEFAULT