April 2007
Anchorage Trial Update
ALO’s first ever jury trial in Anchorage did not turn out well. The jury ruled the other driver was at fault, but awarded small damages (under $10,000 total) to our two clients. Other attorneys have said over the years that Anchorage juries often return low verdicts, and now ALO can join the list of firms with that experience. The trial went well, and court room observers predicted a better result. Results elsewhere were better. In Dillingham, a woman received $57,500 for injuries suffered in a car crash, and a Kotzebue child received $20,000 in a medical malpractice case for receiving the wrong dosage of medicine. ALO resolved a civil claim for several victims of sexual abuse, with all details confidential. Finally, a Bethel family agreed to accept $10,000 and a tract of land in settlement of an easement dispute.
Upcoming Events in May
May will bring changes to the staff at ALO. We have hired a new paralegal Rachel Davis, for a six month tour of duty. Rachel currently works as a paralegal in Anchorage, and will be joining her boyfriend Drake Fairbanks in Bethel for the summer months. We look forward to her start on May 15th. Dolly Angstman has an important date in May as well, when she marries David Simeon at the Talkeetna Alaska Lodge May 26th. ALO will be well represented at that wedding, with current and former employees, clients, and friends of the office already reserved at the lodge, which features spectacular views of Denali among its many amenities. Webpage designer Rich Gannon of Front Range Web Design will attend with his wife Jen, so wedding photos will likely appear next month.
May and June 2007
Dolly Angstman’s wedding to David Simeon was a well attended celebration in Talkeetna. Webmaster Rich Gannon has posted a set of pictures on this site from that event. Former Bethel Superior Court Judge Dale Curda presided and many area residents past and present attended. The Angstman family thanks all for attending. Another neighborhood wedding is scheduled for the last weekend of June in Aniak as Jacques Longpre weds Roxanne Evan . Most of the ALO staff will attend, many traveling by boat up the Kuskokwim River.
Myron and Sue spent a couple of weeks at the elk farm in Minnesota, and enjoyed the arrival of nine calves. Wildlife was abundant, with numerous turkeys around the farm, which is a first. Myron competed in the Iowa Senior Olympics, winning medals in the football throw and 3 on 3 basketball, but watch the picture page for his painful results in the 50 meter dash, soon to be posted.
In the office, settlements were reached in a number of cases. A Kasigluk woman received $27,500 for injuries suffered when she was thrown from a boat which hit an underwater cable, owned by the local corporation. A former Bethel person settled his claim for $22,500 after cutting his neck in a fall from a dirt bike in a local sand pit while in Bethel on a visit. In that crash, the rider’s helmet broke leaving a jagged edge which caused the cut. Fox Racing was the defendant. The last recent settlement involved a slip and fall at a dance in the village of Emmonak. A student suffered a broken arm, and his parents accepted $75,000 from the Lower Yukon School District to resolve the claim without suit being filed.
July 07
July was a busy month. In addition to the normal office activities, a cabin building project in the mountains east of Bethel has kept the staff hopping. The cabin is located in the Wood-Tikchik state park, which is the largest state park in the nation. The park is dominated by a chain of 10 lakes, and our project is on Chauekuktuli Lake, the fourth one from the north end of the park, and the first one with forested terrain. The Angstmans first visited this lake in 1979, when Sarah was three months old. During that visit a bear visited our camp while we slept and stole part of our food. Shortly after that visit, we started looking into buying land there, but it took 25 years to make that happen. We finally secured 40 acres from a native allotment holder two years ago, and started the building process this year. The builders are starting to put metal on the roof today, August 1st, and hope to have the exterior completely done this month. Tomas Israelsson of Bethel is the main builder. To get some notion of how remote this site is, the building crew has seen one float plane land a ways up the lake during one month of camping there. Otherwise, the only visitors have been the planes bringing supplies.
Despite about 15 flights to the cabin site during July, Myron managed to settle a major case for a Grayling man injured in a fishing boat accident last fall at Dutch Harbor. He lost two fingers, and severely injured a third when his hand was caught between the boat and the dock. The initial portion of the case against the boat company settled for $1.1 million dollars, and the second phase, against another potential defendant, will now be pursued. No suit has been filed, and the settlement was reached during a mediation.
Matt has been busy in criminal court. In what was described as a major marijuana bust, Matt and Anchorage lawyer Al Beiswenger (formerly of Bethel) each were successful in having charges dismissed against their clients. Matt’s client obtained an outright dismissal through negotiation, and Al had the evidence against his client suppressed by the court. Old timers from Bethel will recall that Myron first hired Al to be the second lawyer in the Public Defender office in the 70's.
Matt was able to get a reduced charge of reckless driving for a Bethel person charged with drunk driving and refusing to take the breathalyzer. He also obtained a dismissal of a Dillingham area charge of importation. He has had a steady stream of clients in Nome and Kotzebue as well. Matt has a number of cases scheduled for trial in Dillingham in August.
The office will once again be well represented at a wedding in August, this time in Ireland. Former Bethel residents Nate Peters and Addy Roddy will be married in her home country in mid August, and most of the Angstmans will attend. Addy is a former roommate of Sarah, and Nate was a public defender and member of the Old Friendly Dog Farm basketball team. Addy had a short career as a Sunday dog musher for the dog farm. (See picture)
April thru July 2007