Susan Hunt files motion for new trial in civil lawsuit

Susan Hunt files motion for new trial in civil lawsuit

(Scott G Winterton/Deseret News, File)


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SALT LAKE CITY — Susan Hunt wants a new trial.

On Wednesday, nearly one month after U.S. District Judge Tena Campbell dismissed the federal civil rights lawsuit filed by Hunt against Saratoga Springs and the two officers who fatally shot her son Darrien in 2014, attorneys filed a motion requesting a new trial.

"To stave off the need for a lengthy and expensive appeal, Susan Hunt respectfully asks the court to re-evaluate the legal analysis that undergirds the court’s decision to enforce the settlement offer made by defendants’ counsel by email on August 18, 2015," the lawsuit states.

In April, Campbell ruled that Hunt had agreed to an out-of-court settlement of $900,000 and ordered her to take the money. Part of that decision was made based on a recorded phone conservation between Hunt and her former attorney, Robert Sykes.

Hunt, however, claims she never authorized Sykes to accept the settlement, claiming it would have required her to stay quiet about her son' death.

Darrien Hunt, 22, was shot and killed following a confrontation with two Saratoga Springs police officers. He was carrying a 3-foot souvenir katana sword when he was shot six times in the back, with most of the shots hitting him as he fled from officers.

The Utah County Attorney's Office determined the officers' actions were legally justified. In January 2015, Sykes and the Hunt family filed a $2 million civil lawsuit, calling the use of deadly force unlawful and excessive.

According to the motion for a new trial, Susan Hunt and the estate of Darrien Hunt maintain that Sykes never had the authority to agree to a settlement, that the settlement was not binding without Hunt's signature, and that there was never an evidentiary hearing.

"Susan respectfully requests the court to vacate the judgment, hold that there exists no valid and enforceable settlement agreement between Susan and the defendants, and reset the case for litigation on the merits," Hunt's lawyers wrote.

The lengthy 21-page motion also notes that "Susan was in an intensely emotional state during the entire period settlement was being attempted," and that "Susan was focused on protecting her right to a public opinion regarding her son’s death."

"Thus, even if the court concludes that there is a valid agreement, it should nevertheless refrain from enforcing that agreement because Susan has offered well more than a 'comparatively unsubstantial' excuse for her nonperformance," according to the motion.

Hunt is also facing criminal charges in an unrelated DUI case. Charging documents say she was driving on the wrong side of state Route 73 near Stockton, Tooele County, on Jan. 26. Troopers said they had to block her car with their vehicles and negotiate with her for almost 15 minutes to get her to exit her car.

She is charged with reckless endangerment, a class A misdemeanor; driving under the influence of alcohol or drugs, a class B misdemeanor; having an open container inside a vehicle on a highway, a class C misdemeanor; and driving on the wrong side of the road, an infraction.

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Pat Reavy

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