Judge Sets Aside Error in Suit Over Robber’s Death

Despite a potentially costly error by the city’s attorneys, a federal court judge allowed a civil rights lawsuit filed on behalf of the children of one of the dead North Hollywood bank robbers to proceed Monday.

U.S. District Judge Kim Wardlaw, who admonished the city for the error, agreed to set aside a default on the lawsuit that could have left the city liable in the case. Assistant City Atty. Don Vincent said the office made a technical error when it missed a court date to answer a complaint.

The civil rights lawsuit, filed by attorney Stephen Yagman, charges that Emil Matasareanu was allowed to die after police shot him nearly an hour after he and an accomplice held officers at bay with assault weapons. Trial was set for Oct. 13, 1998.

Also on Monday, the city agreed to several key points in the lawsuit that determine the timing of the shooting and death. The city agreed that the bank robber was shot at 9:50 a.m. and that he was pronounced dead at 11:10 a.m. Yagman said he is attempting to prove that the robber was left to bleed to death without adequate medical care.

Still in dispute, however, is whether the police called for paramedics and whether Matasareanu would have lived had he received timely treatment after the shooting.

Both sides say they are preparing for trial in the case. The other robber, who shot himself while police were pursuing him, was determined to have died from his own bullet.