Lawyerly Lovebirds Accused of Planting Pills and Pot Now Face a Civil Suit From Alleged Victim

Remember the lawyers who were accused of planting drugs on the PTA president earlier this summer? Now they're facing a civil suit...

Back in June, we brought you a story about some mom-and-dad law grads who had been accused of planting a potpourri of pills and pot on a parent volunteer from their son’s school. Kent W. Easter, a UCLA Law graduate, is (or was) a partner at Stradling Yocca Carlson & Rauth, a midsize California firm. His wife, Jillianne B. Easter, is a Boalt Hall grad and former lawyer who dabbles in crime fiction writing (and bad plastic surgery, from the looks of it).

Apparently the Easters thought that they could get away with the perfect crime, but alas, that only happens in books written by partner wives. Now, the Easters are looking at additional legal troubles: their alleged victim, Kelli Peters, has filed a civil suit against the couple that contains some interesting allegations. In fact, the page-turner of a complaint reads like it was written by a crime writer far more talented than Mrs. Easter (aka Ava Bjork).

Let’s check out the complaint, and see what the Easters are up against….

Please note the UPDATE at the end of this post.

Recall that in June, the Easters were arrested and charged with conspiracy to procure a false arrest, false imprisonment, and conspiracy to falsely report a crime. If convicted, they face up to three years in state prison. As we previously noted, they’re free on $20,000 bail each, and will both be arraigned next week, on August 23.

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Since that time, PTA president Peters consulted with a lawyer and filed a complaint against the Easters on behalf of herself; her husband, Bill Peters; and their 12-year-old daughter. Peters alleges intentional infliction of emotional distress, negligent infliction of emotional distress, and false imprisonment.

The Orange County Register has the scoop on Peters’s filing, and apparently it’s a doozy:

An Irvine elementary school volunteer and her family have endured a nightmare since she was detained by police after being falsely accused of using illegal drugs, phony accusations stemming from an “evil conspiracy” by a couple now facing criminal charges of conspiracy, according to a civil suit filed by the volunteer.

During a more than year-long investigation by police, the toll on Kelli Peters, her husband, Bill, and their 12-year-old daughter because of the false accusations led to anxiety, panic and fear in the family “that some unknown person or persons were actively trying to destroy them,” the suit filed in Orange County Superior Court says.

An “evil conspiracy,” eh? That could be why the family was fearful that “someone was out to hurt or kill them.” Seriously, if this were a plotline on Real Housewives of Orange County, the show’s ratings would be killer. Kind of like the recurring nightmares that Mrs. Peters claims she’s been having:

The complaint then crescendos with the following text — which looks like it could serve as the blurb for the dust jacket of the book that you know is going to be written when all of this is over:

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Spoiler alert: if the allegations against them are true, this couple doesn’t know anything about committing the perfect crime. What makes you think the book is going to be any good? Don’t go wasting your money on these rotten Easter eggs.

To see the full complaint in all of its glory, click through to the following page….

UPDATE (06/25/13): The criminal charges against the Easters are ongoing, with a trial scheduled for October 28, 2013, but they are now suing several parties for defamation. Click here for additional coverage.