Tuesday, July 22, 2008

Civil Suit Filed in Death of La Jolla Pro Surfer

A civil lawsuit was filed against five men Tuesday in San Diego by the mother of a pro surfer who allegedly died as a result of an altercation he had with the men back in May of 2007.

The mother of Emery Kauanui filed the wrongful death suit, alleging that Seth Cravens, Orlando Osuna, Matthew Yanke, Eric House, Henri Hendricks, plus the men's parents, are responsible for Kauanui's death.

Attorneys for Cindy Kauanui filing the suit allege that the parents failed to act on signals that their children had turned to violence.

The civil suit also names Barkandbrew Inc., the company that owns the La Jolla Brewhouse. Kauanui and House reportedly got into an argument there hours before the beating. The suit alleges that the Brewhouse provided alcohol to the young men even though they were drunk at the time.

The defendants allegedly went to Kauanui's mother's home later that night and confronted Kauanui. An altercation took place outside, with Kauanui suffering grave injuries. He died four days later at a local hospital.

Four of the five defendants accepted plea deals for their reported roles in the fight. The fifth, Seth Cravens, will go on trial later this year on murder and other charges stemming for the incident.

No comments: