Women Sues Lawyer who vanished after settling Malpractice Lawsuit
Posted by
Christina ColeDecember 15, 2006 5:43 AMTonya'n LaBeaux has lost faith in the Nevada justice system.
Her lawyer is being charged with forging documents that ended her $1.5 million wrongful death lawsuit against a Washoe County doctor and making off with the settlement he negotiated without her consent. To date, the courts have rebuffed her attempts to resurrect her case against the doctor.
LaBeaux, now a California resident, is going after the attorney, Lawrence Davidson, who is charged with keeping the $187,500 settlement that he negotiated in her favor. There is one snag in her last resort attempt to receive compensation in her father's 1999 death - Davidson has disappeared.
LaBeaux is one of at least 17 people who say they are victims of Davidson, who was indicted by the federal government last year on charges he negotiated settlements without the knowledge of his clients and then deposited the money into his own bank account.The government alleges Davidson illegally pocketed a total of $936,300.
Davidson was a no-show Oct. 30 for the first day of his trial. U.S. District Judge Roger Hunt issued a warrant for his arrest.
LaBeaux's ordeal started on July 4, 1999, when her father, Frank Charles Molica, wrecked his off-road motorcycle during an outing near Truckee, Calif. He was airlifted to Washoe Medical Center about 5 p.m. The next morning, his primary physician released the 60-year-old from the hospital. Within seven hours, Molica was dead.
According to a coroner's report, Molica had nine rib fractures as well as lacerations to his lungs. Severe bleeding in his chest triggered a heart attack, LaBeaux said, citing the report.
To date Davidson is still missing.