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By KEVIN WACK
Wilmot "Bill" Lewis has been trying for a year and a half to make someone pay for the tragic death of his wife, Ethel, who was struck and killed by a minivan as she retrieved the morning newspaper from a box across the street from her Buxton home.
Last week, a civil court finally handed Lewis a sizable financial award - but the apparent victory may be a hollow one, because payment is far from assured.
Lewis, 85, initially wanted criminal charges to be filed against the driver of the vehicle that hit and killed 76-year-old Ethel, his wife of 59 years.
But the York County District Attorney's Office ultimately concluded that the driver, Lori Marston of Buxton, couldn't be charged because she had stopped and provided assistance, despite an initial police report stating that the crash was a hit-and-run.
In the meantime, Bill Lewis filed a civil lawsuit against Marston. Last week, a Cumberland County judge approved an agreement in the case that would pay $536,837 to the elderly man.
At first glance the settlement would appear to resolve the matter. But it could turn out to be no more valuable than the paper it's written on because of a continuing dispute over Marston's insurance status.
The agreement between Lewis and Marston includes $400,000 for loss of companionship and support, $100,000 for loss of economic support, and $36,837 for medical bills and funeral expenses.
"They've confessed that she was liable," said Randall Smith, Lewis' lawyer.
However, Smith acknowledged that Marston does not have the money to pay the judgment.
Smith plans to try to recover the money from auto insurer GEICO. He contends that GEICO was insuring Marston at the time of the crash.
Smith said GEICO tried to cancel Marston's policy for nonpayment sometime around the time of the crash on Dec. 4, 2006. But he said she had paid for coverage through that date, and argued that the company's effort to cancel her policy was invalid.
GEICO disputes that it was insuring Marston when the crash happened.
A phone call and e-mail to the company were not returned Monday.
Marston and her lawyer, Roger Champagne of Biddeford, also did not return calls seeking comment.
If Bill Lewis fails to recover the money from GEICO, his lawyer plans to seek payment from Farm Family Casualty Insurance Co. - Ethel Lewis' insurer at the time she died - under the policy's uninsured motorist coverage.
But if the effort to recover money from GEICO proves unsuccessful, the $536,837 figure will be tossed out, because the agreement approved last week states that Farm Family is not bound by its terms.
Paul Douglass, a lawyer for Farm Family, said the company is not admitting liability in the death.
In the immediate aftermath of the crash that killed Ethel Lewis, police described it as a hit-and-run and issued an all-points bulletin for the suspect.
But York County District Attorney Mark Lawrence concluded later that Marston did stop and render assistance.
Bill Lewis' civil lawsuit suggests that Marston stopped and identified herself, but did not make clear that she was the driver involved.
Staff Writer Kevin Wack can be contacted at 791-6365 or at:
kwack@pressherald.com
Originally published by By KEVIN WACK Staff Writer.
(c) 2008 Portland Press Herald. Provided by ProQuest Information and Learning. All rights Reserved.
Car Insurance News: Court Deal May Not Benefit Widower ; An Insurance Dispute May Undercut a Settlement in a Buxton Woman's Death....Get an auto insurance quote!