SANTA MONICA – Noting their lack of participation in their own case, a judge has dismissed a lawsuit brought against Ed Buck by two sisters whose brother died in the West Hollywood apartment of the former Democratic donor in 2019.
Santa Monica Superior Court Judge H. Jay Ford III’s Monday ruling was “without prejudice,” meaning the case brought by Joyce Jackson and Joann Campbell, siblings of the late Timothy Dean, could be revived later. A third sister, Retha Singleton, dropped out as a plaintiff in the case in August.
“It appears to the court that plaintiffs have abandoned the prosecution of the case, plaintiffs failed to substitute out all of their counsel and dismiss claim,” the judge wrote.
After a nine-day trial in July 2021, a federal jury found Buck guilty of two counts of distribution of methamphetamine resulting in death, four counts of distribution of methamphetamine, one count of maintaining a drug-involved premises, and two counts of enticement to travel in interstate commerce for prostitution stemming from the deaths of Dean and another man, Gemmel Moore, who was found dead in Buck’s apartment in July 2017.
The 70-year-old Buck was sentenced in April 2022 to 30 years in prison. A month later, Ford lifted a temporary stay on the civil case.
Several vials, syringes and containers of narcotics were recovered from throughout Buck’s residence, according to the lawsuit filed in January 2020.
The Los Angeles County coroner’s office concluded that Dean’s death was caused by an accidental methamphetamine overdose, according to the plaintiffs’ court papers, which state that Buck has contributed more than $500,000 to the election campaigns and legal defense funds of numerous Los Angeles County and city government officials and candidates since 2008.
