The Greene lawsuit was tossed out. Was it the right decision?

[R8RBOB]

Yes it was. Yatooma never found a credible witness to say "yes there was a party and Ms. Greene indeed danced at that party."

[rb336]

If you want a perfect example of a case made of thin air, this was it. No evidence of the party, no evidence that there was ANY connection between KK & strawberry. All he had was "they destroyed the evidence" with no proof evidence existed to be destroyed

[Kevgoblue]

Yet still Judge Rosen awarded Yatooma over $700K in attorney fees. Wonder if he plans on sharing any of that with her kids. Yeah right.
Hopefully that award is reversed when the city contests it.

[Meddle]

[[AP) DETROIT — A federal judge in Detroit has dismissed a civil lawsuit filed by the family of a slain stripper Tamara Greene against the city and ex-Mayor Kwame Kilpatrick.

Judge Gerald Rosen on Tuesday issued the opinion and order after the city and Kilpatrick asked for summary judgment.

Greene was shot to death in 2003 outside her Detroit home.

She was rumored to have danced at a never-proven 2002 party at the mayoral mansion. The lawsuit claims the city and Kilpatrick stifled efforts to solve her killing. Kilpatrick has denied those claims.

Rosen writes that Greene family attorney Norman Yatooma "failed to produce evidence linking" Kilpatrick to obstructing the investigation.

Kilpatrick attorney James Thomas said he is "extremely gratified" by the outcome.

Gerry, Gerry, Gerry....... I'm not impressed.

[Ravine]

The impetus behind the suit was not to prove there was a party or-- if there was-- Tamara Greene danced at it.

[Occurrence]

Yes it was the right decision. If they couldn't come up with anything creditable after all these years, then they weren't going to. Quit wasting time and money on it.

[Meddle]

^^ This is what happens when the City overtly practices obstruction of justice.

[R8RBOB]

Yet still Judge Rosen awarded Yatooma over $700K in attorney fees. Wonder if he plans on sharing any of that with her kids. Yeah right.
Hopefully that award is reversed when the city contests it.

Not likely, I wouldn't be surprised if he sent the family a bill.

Norman Yatooma is the only winner here. He got $700K and his name out there which was the goal.

[Downriviera]

Why were there so many texts, emails, files, etc. missing regarding this case? Where theres smoke theres fire.

[softailrider]

Not likely, I wouldn't be surprised if he sent the family a bill.

Norman Yatooma is the only winner here. He got $700K and his name out there which was the goal.

Sure, he can send the family all the bills he wants. Wouldn't advise him to hold his breath waiting for a check.

[Lowell]

Norman Yatooma is the only winner here. He got $700K and his name out there which was the goal.

Not so fast...

The judge ordered the city to reimburse Yatooma for fighting a lengthy legal skirmish over the missing e-mail.

Yatooma asked for $735,000, which the city is expected to contest.

[R8RBOB]

Now, I am sure that the Greene family want justice but throwing out the lawsuit was for the best because Yatooma was never going to prove the the city conspire to bury the case based on a rumor that a party occurred at the Manoogian Mansion and Ms. Greene danced at this party and was assaulted by Mrs. Kilpatrick. He spent over five years delivering rumor after rumor and in the end the rumors all died because there was nothing there to start with.

Hopefully, the murderer of Tamara Greene can be found and brought to justice but suing the city claiming that they botched the investigation was not the way to bring justice to her kids.

[Hypestyles]

.. so will this be marketed by the Kilpatrick family as an example of his "vindication"?
Hopefully mayor Bing won't say anything, there's enough problems from other city lawsuits..

[R8RBOB]

Yatooma, who learned of the dismissal while vacationing in Florida, said his staff is already drafting an appeal. He estimated he has spent more than $2 million on the case.

"What can I tell you? I'm shocked," Yatooma said. "I'm not disappointed — I'm horrified. I'm furious. What the defendants have done is worthy of imprisonment. They have destroyed lives, destroyed the state and destroyed an era."

From The Detroit News: http://detnews.com/article/20111102/...#ixzz1cXx2udCE

He should be horrified because he produced a horrible case. At least Geoffrey Fieger get his high-profile cases heard before the jury. Yatooma spent almost six years and $2 million chasing shadows.

[rb336]

Why were there so many texts, emails, files, etc. missing regarding this case? Where theres smoke theres fire.

missing or non-existant? there was never any evidence that the documents in question existed in the first place

[RedeemerKid]

This is likely not a case of conspiracy on behalf of the city nor anyone else to derail the investigation.

I do however suspect that an argument could be made that it is a case of negligence in not properly keeping track of important information and evidence, and not properly following up on the case.

The problem is, the city is probably no more negligent as it pertains to this case than they are with respect to any number of murder investigations. With limited resources and outdated technology this happens a lot, from what I have been told by one county prosecutor.

If you start handing out judgements for poor handling of murder investigations as opposed to willful acts of conspiracy to kill an investigation, then the city could quickly owe a lot of money to a lot of families.

[swingline]

Yet still Judge Rosen awarded Yatooma over $700K in attorney fees. Wonder if he plans on sharing any of that with her kids. Yeah right.
Hopefully that award is reversed when the city contests it.

No final decision has been made on how much Mr. Yatooma's firm will be awarded. He is seeking $735K which Judge Rosen will likely reduce, hopefully by a significant margin. The hourly fees Mr. Yatooma is seeking are not supportable under federal attorney fee award precedent, and the alleged time spent is unconscionably excessive. Mr. Yatooma should be sanctioned by the court for such overreaching.

[Danny]

It's a terrible unethnical decision for the judge to toss Tamara Green murder case in the circular file. Now the Green family will never find out the KING KWAME hired the stripper to do her thing at the Manoogian Mansion. She was about to snitch in him about the family dispute that lead to Former Detroit Police Chief Brown's mail call to the mansion and break up the problem. The Green Family will never out if KING KWAME sent his black mafia to kill her in a Detroit ghettohood. It's seems to me that Detroit City Council don't want to pay the family over 150 million dollars settlement when the city is broke. Keep on fighting Green family you will have your day.

[bartock]

He should be horrified because he produced a horrible case. At least Geoffrey Fieger get his high-profile cases heard before the jury. Yatooma spent almost six years and $2 million chasing shadows.
[/COLOR][/LEFT]

I suspect that much of that $2 million is his claim of [[law firm) time spent working on the file at a claimed "value" of more than $500 per hour. He'll get a fraction of the $735K in sanctions he sought, and he'll never have to pay the City of Detroit back for all of the time and money it wasted, since if costs are awared to C of D, they will be awarded against the family that has no money.

He also won't have to pay back the 6 years of publicity and advertising his lawsuit produced. I'm guessing he made more than $2 million in referral business during the past 6 years. He's out smelling like a rose, the family is left empty, sold for six years on a bill of goods that this was a lawsuit that would ever see a jury.

[R8RBOB]

I suspect that much of that $2 million is his claim of [[law firm) time spent working on the file at a claimed "value" of more than $500 per hour. He'll get a fraction of the $735K in sanctions he sought, and he'll never have to pay the City of Detroit back for all of the time and money it wasted, since if costs are awared to C of D, they will be awarded against the family that has no money.

He also won't have to pay back the 6 years of publicity and advertising his lawsuit produced. I'm guessing he made more than $2 million in referral business during the past 6 years. He's out smelling like a rose, the family is left empty, sold for six years on a bill of goods that this was a lawsuit that would ever see a jury.

And this is why people despise lawyers unless they need one. I posted on this earlier but Yatooma is the only winner in this. He loved having the cameras in his face because Geoffrey Fieger isn't the only big-name lawyer in Metro Detroit you have to go to. Now you have Norman Yatooma and didn't have to put his face on a billboard like Sam Bernstein or that Arabic chick. The Greene family was given fool's gold which was swapped by Yatooma because without a smoking gun he didn't have a chance in hell to get this case in court.

[bartock]

And this is why people despise lawyers unless they need one. I posted on this earlier but Yatooma is the only winner in this. He loved having the cameras in his face because Geoffrey Fieger isn't the only big-name lawyer in Metro Detroit you have to go to. Now you have Norman Yatooma and didn't have to put his face on a billboard like Sam Bernstein or that Arabic chick. The Greene family was given fool's gold which was swapped by Yatooma because without a smoking gun he didn't have a chance in hell to get this case in court.

Yeah, I read your prior comments and they were spot on.

and, your comments about how people feel about lawyers are accurate and understandable. I don't like the ethics of many lawyers I encounter, and I am one. Go figure.

[Gistok]

Now you have Norman Yatooma and didn't have to put his face on a billboard like Sam Bernstein or that Arabic chick.

R8RBOB... lmao.... I see her mug on the big billboard at Ford Rd. & Oakman every time I drive by.... I laughed so hard I sprayed coffee all over my keyboard...

[rb336]

Yatooma is the only winner in this. He loved having the cameras in his face because Geoffrey Fieger isn't the only big-name lawyer in Metro Detroit you have to go to.

Was Yatooma a "big-name" lawyer? Feiger would never have taken a case like that -- not with a zero chance of winning.

[R8RBOB]

R8RBOB... lmao.... I see her mug on the big billboard at Ford Rd. & Oakman every time I drive by.... I laughed so hard I sprayed coffee all over my keyboard...

I couldn't think of her name when I was posting. I believe her name is Joumana and Joumana, if you are reading DYes, my apologizes for not knowning your name off the back.

Was Yatooma a "big-name" lawyer? Feiger would never have taken a case like that -- not with a zero chance of winning.

I think you missed the point I was attempting to make but I'm more than happy to help you along. Norman Yatooma was an unknown. When, I didn't know who he was just like I didn't know who Joumana was before she plastered her picture on billboards thought out the area. Yatooma thought he had the case that would make his name ring out and yes he probably knew he couldn't win if it when to trial but he may had hoped two things would happen.

1) He got exposure. Everyone in Metro Detroit know who he is. He spend years doing what: badmouthing Kwame Kilpatrick. Kilpatrick was already mud in the suburbs and he was slowing turning to dirt in Detroit. All Yatooma had to do is talk negative and he got a microphone in his face.

2) The city would settle. If Yatooma could have gotten a million dollars from the city as a settlement, it is a win for him because the city would acknowledge that mistakes were made and Yatooma would get the credit.

Now I could be wrong, but when Norman Yatooma says that he is horrified, he is dead on because this all about him.

[Meddle]

Someday it'll come out that he was right. One of the cops involved will make some sort of deathbed confession when he dies of old age. The city is so extremely corrupt, no one knows the real truth about anything anymore.