Verdict in shooting lawsuit is disputed

A lawyer for the family of a man fatally shot by King County sheriff's Deputy Melvin Miller wants a judge to set aside last week's verdict exonerating the deputy in a wrongful-death lawsuit because of a juror's potential conflict of interest.

The juror, Jeff Larsen of Seattle, disclosed before trial that he works for Regence Blue Shield, which is a corporate client of Mills Meyers Swartling, the firm representing Miller.

Still, in a letter sent yesterday to U.S. District Judge Thomas Zilly, Miller attorney Fred Meyers said his firm realized its link to Larsen only this week, and no one could recall Larsen's disclosure that he worked for Regence Blue Shield.

Bradley Marshall, the lawyer for the estate of Robert Thomas Sr., the man Miller shot in a parked pickup near Renton three years ago, plans to file for a mistrial Monday.

Jury deliberations, Marshall said, were "polluted" by the fact that the same law firm represents Larsen's employer and the deputy.

Hayes Gori, co-counsel for Miller, said he talked with Meyers yesterday, and "we didn't recall Regence" written on the form Larsen filled out before being selected.

"I don't think we did anything wrong," Gori said.

Miller was off-duty and out of uniform when he shot and killed Thomas and wounded his son, Robert Thomas Jr., on April 7, 2002.

Miller said he fired in self-defense. A photograph, exhibited at the trial, showed a gun in Thomas Sr.'s hand.

Thomas Jr. maintains Miller fired without provocation.

No criminal charges were filed against Miller. An inquest jury found he had reason to fear for his life, a Sheriff's Office investigation found he did not violate policy and the King County Shooting Review Board ruled the shooting justified.

In the $25 million lawsuit, the Thomas family claimed Miller violated Thomas Sr.'s and Thomas Jr.'s civil rights. A seven-member jury unanimously rejected that claim in its April 8 verdict.

As is routine in jury trials, potential jurors in the case filled out forms about their education, where they work, where their spouses work and if anyone in their families has been employed by the government or law enforcement.

Four lines down on the one-page form, Larsen wrote: "Regence Blue Shield" under employer. He said he worked in "contract negotiations."

Gori said lawyers get the forms just minutes in advance and must flip through them quickly. He said he and Meyers must have missed Larsen's answer in the paperwork from 35 potential jurors.

Said Marshall: "There's no excuse for it. This is Trial Practice 101."

Larsen's link to the firm, according to Meyers' letter to Zilly, became known after a conference call Tuesday among other lawyers at the firm and Regence Blue Shield. Larsen participated in the call.

Just after the call, Larsen called one of the lawyers involved in the call to say he had been a juror in the recent civil trial, Meyers wrote Zilly.

Beth Kaiman: 206-464-2441 or bkaiman@seattletimes.com