Plot thickens in Grisham lawsuit

WASHINGTON — He's a lawyer. He's a best-selling author. Now he's The Client.

The Virginia Supreme Court ruled Friday that John Grisham must face a jury for his actions in a real-life whodunit.

Grisham, author of "The Pelican Brief," "The Firm" and "The Runaway Jury," among other best-sellers, lives outside Charlottesville, Va. His son attended the private St. Anne's-Belfield School, where he played baseball for Alan Swanson, the head coach. Grisham and Swanson became friends, according to court papers.

In 1996, Swanson's wife, Donna Swanson, began receiving harassing, handwritten anonymous letters, which included accusations that her husband was cheating on her, according to the ruling. Grisham also received an anonymous letter. The court did not say what was in it.

In 1998, according to a lawsuit, "Grisham was intrigued by the idea of trying to 'get to the bottom' of who was writing them, and he decided to play amateur detective."

Grisham and the Swansons focused on another St. Anne's parent, Katharine Almy.

Grisham and the Swansons took the letters to a handwriting expert, who told them he needed more samples.

Both sides agree Grisham and Alan Swanson then obtained enrollment and medical-release forms from the school, filled out by Almy, that were stamped "strictly confidential." They provided the forms to the handwriting expert, who issued a report saying the letters "possibly" were written by Almy, the lawsuit states.

Grisham provided the expert's report and the letters to the Albemarle County police, and a detective visited Almy. The lawsuit states she was horrified she was being investigated and repeatedly denied writing the letters. The detective reportedly told her to stop writing the letters. The lawsuit says that Almy provided handwriting samples to another examiner, who cleared her, and that she passed a polygraph test.

But Almy alleges that she was devastated by the accusations and the investigation and claimed the detective's visit caused severe emotional problems, including sleeplessness and an inability to concentrate. When she later found out that forms had been taken from school for use in the investigation, she was further humiliated.

In 2000, as the letters kept arriving, Almy sued Grisham and the Swansons for intentional infliction of emotional distress. She withdrew the suit in 2003 but re-filed it in 2004. A year later, Albemarle County Circuit Court Judge William Shelton threw it out, saying the case had no merit.

Almy appealed. And Friday, the court ruled that dismissal was premature because Almy had stated claims sufficient to warrant a trial.

No one answered the phone at Grisham's home Friday. His attorney, Thomas Albro, said the author "had no intention of causing this woman any emotional distress or harm." The Swansons' attorney did not return a call.

Bernard DiMuro, Almy's attorney, said Almy "became the victim and wrongful target of a Barney Fife-style investigation instigated by Mr. Grisham and the Swansons that tarnished her reputation in the community."

The author of the letters remains a mystery.

Material from The Associated Press is included in this report.