Acquitted Modesto attorney Frank Carson seeks millions of dollars in damages
Modesto defense attorney Frank Carson, who was acquitted of murder charges in June, filed damage claims this week accusing Stanislaus County and other local agencies of false arrest and malicious prosecution.
The County Counsel’s office said a claim against the county was filed on Carson’s behalf Monday. That claim and a similar one delivered to the city of Modesto on Christmas Eve are almost certain to lead to a lawsuit seeking millions in compensation for the Modesto attorney.
Carson said Thursday the claims are a precursor to a lawsuit that will seek damages for false arrest and incarceration, malicious prosecution and violation of his constitutional rights. Carson, who spent four years accused of murder in the death of Korey Kauffman of Turlock, is represented by Oakland attorney J. Gary Gwilliam.
In August 2015, Carson, his wife Georgia DeFilippo and stepdaughter Christina DeFilippo were arrested and charged in the murder of Kauffman. Carson’s claim partly seeks compensation for health problems attributed to spending 17 months in the county jail.
According to the claim, Carson’s legal fees amounted to more than $3 million. The murder charges also cost him years of lost income and damage to the reputation of his law practice, the claim says. At one time, Carson said, he talked with legal advisers about seeking a total of $155 million in compensation, including punitive damages, stemming from the four-year ordeal.
“It was just an attempt to destroy me and my family,” Carson said Thursday. “It was a vindictive personal attack to get me. They knew there was no basis for it.”
Gwilliam, an attorney who specializes in false arrest and employment cases, said his office has not calculated the exact amount of damages in Carson’s case and it won’t approach nine figures.
A lawsuit will seek “many millions of dollars” based on Carson’s economic losses, damage to his practice, legal costs, emotional distress and how his life has been affected. The primary defendant will be Stanislaus County, Gwilliam said.
“Clearly, it has caused him a life-changing event,” the attorney said. “At least justice was done and we are happy about that.”
Carson’s wife and stepdaughter were cleared of wrongdoing and they sought damages in a malicious prosecution claim in 2017.
A jury acquitted Carson and co-defendants Baljit Athwal and Daljit Atwal on June 28 following a trial that lasted more than a year. The preliminary hearing involving countless hours of testimony lasted for 18 months, the longest in county history.
Carson is expected to pursue the litigation against the county and District Attorney Birgit Fladager, as well as the cities of Modesto, Turlock, and Ceres, detectives and district attorney investigators involved in the case and Deputy District Attorney Marlisa Ferreira. His attorney must wait for the county and other agencies to formally reject the claims before litigation is filed in court.
In an email Thursday, Fladager said any questions regarding damage claims are referred to the County Counsel’s office. Assistant County Counsel Robert Taro wrote that Carson’s claim is being reviewed. “We have no further comment at this time,” Taro said.
The claim delivered to the city accuses the prosecutors and investigators of conducting a retaliatory and unconstitutional investigation, and also alleges false arrest and incarceration and malicious prosecution of Carson and his family members. The claim suggests the prosecution targeted him based on disdain for the defense attorney’s victories over them in prior criminal cases.
The claim alleges that evidence was fabricated to place Kauffman’s disappearance on March 30, 2012, because the defendants charged with murder had alibis for that March 29.
Carson was accused of leading a conspiracy to stop people, including Kauffman, from stealing items from his 5-acre property in Turlock. Kauffman, 26, disappeared in spring 2012 and his remains were found more than a year later in a remote area of Mariposa County.
“There was no evidence that Korey Kauffman was ever on Carson’s property ... and no evidence of Carson’s intent or motive to kill Kauffman,” the claim says.
The damage claim mentions a civil suit that Carson brought against district attorney investigator Steve Jacobson in 2010. Carson alleged in the suit that animosity over a criminal case boiled over when Jacobson allegedly assaulted him in the courthouse. Carson reportedly had attempted to take Jacobson’s picture.
According to the claim this week, Jacobson wrote the search and arrest warrant against Carson and his family members.
Carson said he has struggled with high blood pressure and kidney failure, now treated with dialysis, as a result of the 17 months of incarceration. He was released on his own recognizance in December 2016.
This story was originally published December 27, 2019 at 9:40 AM.
