LOS ANGELES : Court Allows Changes in Peggy Buckey Lawsuit
A federal appeals court Wednesday ruled that Peggy McMartin Buckey should be allowed to amend her pleadings in a multimillion-dollar lawsuit filed against Los Angeles County, the city of Manhattan Beach and others after her acquittal in 1990 on molestation charges in the McMartin Pre-School case.
U. S. District Judge Richard A. Gadbois Jr. dismissed Buckey’s lawsuit in August, 1990, and denied her the right to amend her pleadings. The lawsuit alleges malicious prosecution, conspiracy and defamation.
While agreeing that the judge acted correctly in dismissing the case, the U. S. 9th Circuit Court of Appeals remanded the case to Gadbois, saying that the judge should not have precluded her from amending her complaint.
Buckey’s attorney, William H. Waysman, said Wednesday he will amend the complaint to allege a conspiracy among the various defendants to defame her. Buckey, 65, was acquitted of 52 molestation charges involving the pre-school.
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