Knoxville News-Sentinel
KNOXVILLE, Tenn. — The insurance company that footed the bill to defend a Scott County deputy against allegations he intentionally killed his partner does not have to pick up the $5 million tab a jury assessed against him, a state appellate court has ruled.
The ruling means the widow and children of slain Scott County Sgt. Hubert “John-John” Yancey, who already contend they’ve been robbed of justice in the November 2003 fatal shooting, may not collect a dime in the civil penalties assessed against former lawman Marty Carson.
Carson fatally wounded Yancey during a methamphetamine lab raid. Carson initially claimed the meth cookers killed Yancey. Confronted with evidence Yancey was felled by a bullet from Carson’s gun, Carson then insisted he mistook Yancey for a suspect. At the time, Carson’s father was the sheriff. The shooting was ruled accidental.
But Tennessee Bureau of Investigation Agent Steve Vinsant remained suspicious of Carson’s account, as did Yancey’s widow, Lori Yancey. She hired attorneys Herbert S. Moncier and David Wigler. They eventually fi led a wrongful death lawsuit in U.S. District Court.
At the trial, the pair presented a slew of witnesses ranging from a Tennessee Highway Patrol trooper to a police chief to methamphetamine addicts to convince jurorsYancey’s death was not an accident but instead murder.
According to trial testimony, Carson had become involved in the meth trade while working as the chief narcotics investigator for the department. Yancey found out about it and launched a secret probe, witnesses testified. When Carson learned of Yancey’s suspicions, Carson set out to kill him during a raid of a trailer and suspected meth lab, calling Yancey inside, hiding in the bathroom and then shooting his partner as Yancey came to his aid, Moncier argued.
Scott County’s insurer, Tennessee Risk Management Trust, paid for Carson’s defense. The jury deemed Yancey’s death intentional and awarded Lori Yancey and her two sons $5 million in damages, a penalty Carson has indicated he cannot afford to pay. He lost his job and his father was voted out of office.
The federal lawsuit prompted renewed attention in the criminal justice system to the shooting. The TBI launched a new probe, but the case was later turned over to the FBI. No criminal charges have been filed since.
Meanwhile, Lori Yancey turned to Scott County Circuit Court Judge John McAfee to get TRMT to pay the damages awarded her. At the time of the shooting, TRMT covered Carson as a county employee. TRMT balked, arguing that the policy specifically excluded coverage for intentional acts of violence. Had the shooting been accidental, that exclusion wouldn’t apply. McAfee sided with TMRT.
In an opinion delivered by Judge D. Michael Swiney and made public last week, the state Court of Appeals agreed.
The court opined that the policy covered only damages resulting from Carson’s work as a deputy.
“We do not disagree that the raid upon a meth lab was within the scope of Carson’s duties as an officer,” Swiney wrote. “However, that does not mean that any and all of Carson’s actions committed while the raid was happening automatically fall within the scope of his duties.
“Carson clearly stepped outside of the scope of his duties when he intentionally shot and killed his partner,” the opinion continued. “It cannot be said that the actions of a law enforcement officer who intentionally shoots and kills his partner furthers his employer’s purposes. Such an assertion would be bizarre.”
Copyright 2010 Knoxville News-Sentinel