Legal Documents

egurnon@pioneerpress.comtwincities.com
Posted:   05/15/2012 12:01:00 AM CDT
May 16, 2012 4:1 AM GMTUpdated:   05/15/2012 11:01:30 PM CDT

Aaron Walter Foster, acquitted in the murder of his girlfriend but found liable in a civil court for wrongful death, has filed a motion to vacate the $6 million civil judgment.

The motion is scheduled to be heard in the courtroom of Ramsey County District Judge Dale Lindman on May 29.

Foster was acquitted in the 1981 shooting death of Barbara "Bobbi" Winn in Maplewood after his 2008 trial. Winn's family filed suit against him last year.

Foster did not show up for the hearing in the civil case, nor did he respond to the wrongful death summons and complaint.

The attorney for Winn's family asked Lindman for a judgment by default, plus damages.

On Feb. 2, Lindman ordered Foster to pay $6 million, or $2 million to each of Winn's three children.

But on Monday, May 14, Foster's attorney, Sean Skrypek, wrote in a motion that Foster was never made aware of the action and that he "vehemently denies" that he killed Winn.

Winn's family, the plaintiffs, "failed to make a single attempt to personally serve Foster at his place of residence, the summons by publication (publishing notice of the lawsuit in a newspaper designated by the court) was defective and therefore service was not proper," Skrypek said in the motion.

The plaintiffs said in a proposed order in January that they had tried to personally serve Foster on four occasions but that "Foster avoided that service."

Skrypek countered that they have no sworn testimony to support the allegation. He also said that the publication of a summons and complaint is proper only under certain circumstances -- and that Foster's case did not fit the bill.

Plaintiffs' attorney David Schultz said he planned to file his response to the motion to vacate later this week. He declined further comment Tuesday.

Winn died of a gunshot wound to the chest May 8, 1981, at her home in the 300 block of Dorland Road in Maplewood. She was 35.

Winn and Foster, her boyfriend at the time and a former employee of the St. Paul Police Department, were in the midst of a violent struggle just before the gun went off. Her three children, ages 15, 13 and 12, were home at the time.

Foster, now 60, claimed Winn committed suicide. He initially was not charged in the crime; after the case was reopened, he was acquitted of murder charges.

Emily Gurnon can be reached at 651-228-5522. Follow her at twitter.com/emilygurnon."

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Pioneer Press Article:

"Aaron Foster still must pay $6M to children of slain Barbara Winn, judge says
By Emily Gurnon
egurnon@pioneerpress.comtwincities.com
Posted:   06/07/2012 12:01:00 AM CDT
June 8, 2012 4:13 AM GMTUpdated:   06/07/2012 11:13:11 PM CDT

A Ramsey County judge has denied Aaron Foster's request to vacate the $6 million wrongful-death judgment against him obtained by the family of his former girlfriend.

Judge Margaret M. Marrinan said in her Thursday, June 7, order that Foster engaged in "deliberate game-playing" to avoid being served with the lawsuit.

Foster had filed a motion to throw out the judgment, claiming that he was never properly served and was unaware of the suit until an acquaintance heard of it in a news report after the judgment had been granted.

Marrinan issued the decision after hearing arguments from attorneys on both sides May 29.

Foster, 60, was acquitted in 2008 in the 1981 shooting death of Barbara "Bobbi" Winn at her Maplewood home. Winn's family sued him last year.

Foster did not show up for the hearing in the civil case, nor did he respond to the wrongful-death lawsuit's summons and complaint. The attorney for Winn's family asked Judge Dale Lindman for a judgment by default, plus damages.

On Feb. 2, Lindman ordered Foster to pay $6 million, or $2 million to each of Winn's three children.

On May 14, Foster's attorney, Sean Skrypek, wrote in a motion that Foster was never made aware of the action.

Skrypek argued that Foster was not personally served notice of the civil lawsuit and that there was no sworn testimony that he evaded service of the notice.

In an affidavit, Foster said he didn't become aware of the lawsuit until an acquaintance told him about a news report of the judgment in February.
 
David Schultz, the attorney for Winn's family, countered that Foster ducked personal service on four occasions.

In addition, Foster tried to get the murder charge expunged from the criminal record after his acquittal, and during a 2011 hearing on that matter, Winn's family informed a judge of the existence of the wrongful-death suit.

Foster was not present in court that day, but his criminal defense attorney, Earl Gray, acknowledged existence of the lawsuit.

Marrinan made it clear in her Thursday order that she did not accept Foster's argument that he was unaware of the lawsuit.

"Where a party's own -- and in this case, intentional -- deliberate game-playing and neglect lead to a default judgment, his actions are not excusable -- and such neglect is a proper ground for refusing to reopen a judgment," Marrinan wrote.

"The overwhelming, credible evidence is that defendant knew of this suit and purposefully chose to avoid service, whether via his attorney, via personal service, or via service by mail."

Winn died of a gunshot wound to the chest May 8, 1981, at her home in the 300 block of Dorland Road in Maplewood. She was 35.

Winn and Foster, whom she was trying to break up with, were in the midst of a violent struggle just before the gun went off.

Her three children, ages 15, 13 and 12 at the time, were in adjacent rooms.

Foster claimed Winn committed suicide. He initially was not charged in the crime; after the case was reopened, he was acquitted of murder charges.

Emily Gurnon can be reached at 651-228-5522. Follow her at twitter.com/emilygurnon."

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Star Tribune Article:

"Ramsey County judge: Aaron Foster evaded suit
Article by: CHAO XIONG , Star Tribune
Updated: June 7, 2012 - 11:41 PM

The decision means Foster must pay the $6 million judgment against him in a wrongful-death suit.

A Ramsey County district judge found that Aaron Foster engaged in "deliberate game-playing and neglect" to avoid being served with a wrongful-death lawsuit in the 1981 fatal shooting of his girlfriend, Barbara Winn.
 
Judge Margaret Marrinan issued a decision Thursday that denied Foster's motion to vacate the $6 million judgment against him.
 
Winn's children filed the wrongful-death suit against Foster in 2011. He didn't respond to the summons and complaint, so the children's attorney asked for a judgment by default, which was granted in February. Ramsey County District Judge Dale

Lindman found Foster civilly liable and ordered him to pay $6 million in damages.
 
In his motion filed soon afterward, Foster said he was never properly served and claimed that he learned about it when an acquaintance contacted him after Lindman's decision.
 
Marrinan heard arguments from Foster's attorney and the children's attorney in May.
 
"Where a party's own -- and in this case intentional -- deliberate game-playing and neglect lead to a default judgment, his actions are not excusable and such neglect is a proper ground for refusing to reopen a judgment," Marrinan wrote. "The overwhelming, credible evidence is that [the] defendant knew of this suit and purposefully chose to avoid service, whether via his attorney, via personal service or via service by mail."
 
Marrinan wrote in her decision that many attempts were made to hand-deliver the suit to Foster, but no one answered the buzzer to his apartment. It was also mailed to his apartment and delivered to attorney Earl Gray, who represented Foster when he tried to expunge his record in 2011.
 
Foster was tried and acquitted in 2008 in Winn's death. Her children told police the couple had argued and Foster shot Winn in her Maplewood townhouse. Foster said Winn shot herself.
 
Chao Xiong • 612-270-4708 Twitter: @ChaoStrib"