While attention is being focused on justice for the perpetrators who devastated our property, environment and established lives, less is being paid to the status of the lawsuit against the State. This week I received a letter from attorney Richard Kinnan acknowledging the State’s dismissal of our case and his intent to appeal.
When I read the State’s argument for dismissal, I was dismayed at the lack of specifics presented in the plaintiff’s argument. I wrote to Mr. Kinnan expressing my disappointment that none of the detailed evidence I provided seemed to have been presented except in a generalized form.
In my letter to him (Kinnan) I wrote, “I’d like to know in detail what new approach you intend to use in filing an appeal that will make for a case less likely to get dismissed again. He replied, “On appeal, all the facts presented to the trial court will be presented. We will keep you apprised.”
Justice in the criminal case may satisfy some and perhaps serve as a disincentive for future crimes, but prevailing in the suit against the State represents to some of us who were underinsured or otherwise left at a loss the only possibility to restore a semblance of our previous existences. I encourage all of you to scrutinize the mailing from the attorneys and offer them suggestions for how an appeal will not result in another dismissal.
Even if you were not devastated by the Corral fire, it is important that the State be held responsible, lest the same conditions result in more disasters.
Scott Palamar