In suit against Karen Read, O’Keefe family brings in high profile wrongful death lawyer
The family of John O'Keefe, whom Karen Read was acquitted of killing this year, is asking to add a California-based lawyer to represent them in the wrongful death lawsuit they are pursuing against Read .
Lawyers representing the family moved for permission for Bibianne "Bibi" Fell , a San Diego-based lawyer, to represent them on Wednesday. In Massachusetts, lawyers who aren't licensed to practice law in the state must get court approval to represent a party in a case.
Fell focuses on catastrophic injury and wrongful death cases, according to her online biography . Her website lists several notable verdicts in civil cases, including $105 million in a medical fraud case, $5.3 million in a wrongful death case and $1.3 million in a drunk driving case.
She joins attorneys Mark Diller and Daniel Buck in representing the plaintiffs.
Meanwhile, Read has hired what amounts to a small army of lawyers to represent her.
Damon Seligson , who works at the firm Sheehan Phinney , is heading up her civil defense. He is joined by two other lawyers from the firm, Charles Waters and Aaron D. Rosenberg .
They joined three lawyers from the firm Melick & Porter , who already represented Read: Christopher George , William L. Keville Jr. and Marissa K. Palladini .
And Read is also represented by three out-of-state lawyers, two of whom, Alan Jackson and Elizabeth Little , represented her at her criminal trial. A third lawyer from Jackson's firm , Caleb Mason , is representing Read in the civil proceeding.
The new lawyer joins the case after a judge agreed to dismiss one of the emotional distress claims brought against Read by the family of O'Keefe, who contends Read is responsible for the death of the Boston Police officer.
The family has also sued two bars in Canton, where the couple drank before O'Keefe's death, C.F. McCarthy's and the Waterfall Bar & Grille. Neither Read nor the bars opposed the family's intention to add Fell to their team.
The lawsuit, filed in Plymouth County last year, accuses Read of backing her car into O'Keefe on the morning of Jan. 29, 2022. It's the same accusation Read faced during her criminal trials, and was ultimately cleared of.
A hearing on the case is scheduled for November.
Karen Read wrongful death lawsuit
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