Appeals Court Reinstates Wrongful Death Lawsuit Against L.A. Sheriff’s Deputy
The U.S. Court of Appeals has reinstated a lawsuit against one of three Los Angeles County sheriff’s deputies accused in civil actions of killing a Van Nuys woman after a night of heavy drinking and sex in 1988, an attorney for the woman’s family said Saturday.
In March, 1991, U.S. District Judge Mariana R. Pfaelzer granted a summary judgment in favor of deputies Robert Mallon, Robert Waters and Michael Turner in a wrongful death claim filed by Edward Postma, the dead woman’s father.
The deputies had argued that there was no evidence to link them to the killing.
But the U.S. 9th Circuit Court of Appeals last week reversed Pfaelzer’s ruling and reinstated the lawsuit against Mallon, said Stephen Yagman, an attorney for Linda Postma, Edward Postma’s widow.
Catherine Braley, 26, was found beaten and strangled in a Van Nuys parking lot Jan. 15, 1988. The previous night she had gone to a nearby bar, where the three off-duty deputies had gone after a fellow deputy’s funeral.
Sheriff’s officials declined to comment. An attorney for Mallon could not be reached for comment.
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