Saturday, December 5, 2015

APNewsBreak: Casey Kasem's Widow Sued for Wrongful Death


Three of the radio personality Casey Kasem's children and his brother sued his widow on Wednesday, claiming her actions led to his death in 2014.

The wrongful death lawsuit filed in Los Angeles Superior Court accuses Jean Kasem of elder abuse and inflicting emotional distress on Kasem's children from a previous marriage by restricting access to their father before his death.

"Casey's early death occurred as a direct and proximate result of Jean's neglect and physical abuse of Casey," the lawsuit states.

A call and email sent to Jean Kasem's attorney, H. Michael Soroy, was not immediately returned.

The longtime "American Top 40" host had a form of dementia and a severe bedsore when he died at age 82.

Kerri, Julie and Michael Kasem are joined in the lawsuit by their uncle, Mouner. The lawsuit seeks more than $250,000, although a jury would have to decide any damage award.

Prosecutors earlier this year declined to charge Jean Kasem with elder abuse, a decision that Kerri Kasem said Wednesday led to her family filing the civil case.

"We would rather see her in jail than receive one dime," Kerri Kasem said. "We don't care about the money. We care about justice."

The lawsuit follows years of legal wrangling between Jean Kasem and three of his adult children from a previous marriage. The groups fought over visitation access to Casey Kasem before his death in June 2014, with his daughter Kerri Kasem assuming control of his medical care.

A Los Angeles judge stripped Jean Kasem of decision-making authority over concerns about her decision to move Casey Kasem from a medical facility in Santa Monica, California, to a friend's home in Washington state.

Jean Kasem contended at the time she moved her husband to protect his privacy.  (Continue Reading)

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4 comments:

Betty said...

I am a little confused about this lawsuit. Are they accusing Jean Kasem of murder?

honeybear said...

Good. Maybe this suit will set a precedence.

Anonymous said...

This article says the lawsuit seeks more than $250,000.00 and Kerri Kasem says it's not about money except that they want their stepmother in jail without a cent. I can understand that, but then why are they suing for 250 grand? If they wanted their stepmother to not have a cent, why not sue for every penny she received in the will? And then they could donate that money to a worthwhile organization.

Wondering said...

I thought Kerri Kasem was her father's conservator? If that's true, then Kerri Kasem would have been making the decisions, so how could Jean Kasem have harmed Casey Kasem when Kerri Kasem was in charge? Something doesn't sound right here. I agree that Jean Kasem's isolation of Casey Kasem was wrong and harmful to Casey, but did it kill him? Isn't that the question here?