BUSINESS

Defendant misses Indian Hill real estate case

Emilie Eaton

eeaton@enquirer.com

Hamilton County Common Pleas Judge Jody Luebbers is presiding over the Troja vs. Pleatman civil suit. Witness Crysta Pleatman failed to appear, telling her attorney she feared Luebbers would put her in jail.

In her 20 plus years working in the court system, Judge Jody Luebbers said she has never witnessed anything like she did Monday.

Crysta Pleatman, the defendant in a Hamilton County Common Pleas Court civil suit over a $1.2 million Indian Hill real estate deal gone sour, did not show up on the first day of the jury trial Monday.

“This is uncharted territory for me,” Luebbers said. “I have never experienced anything like this before.”

Paul Croushore, Pleatman’s attorney, said Pleatman didn’t show up because she was afraid Luebbers would put her in jail.

Paul Croushore, left, attorney for Crysta and Stephen Pleatman, tells Judge Jody Luebbers that although Crysta Pleatman is on a witness list in a $360,000 civil suit, she was “not in the area.” At right is Charles Reynolds, attorney for Grant Troja, who is suing the Pleatmans for breach of contract over the purchase of an Indian Hill home.

“She is in fear – without revealing things I shouldn’t reveal – she’s afraid she’ll be put in jail,” Croushore said.

Croushore did not say why Pleatman feared she’d be put in jail. The plaintiff’s attorney Charles Reynolds said he believed Pleatman was not there because she has continued writing emails to witnesses, a direct violation of an order by Luebbers, and that she has not paid a $26,000 fine Luebbers levied a month ago.

The bizarre and hyper-contentious case began nearly two years ago after Pleatman and her husband Dr. Stephen Pleatman backed out of a contract to buy a home on Pipewell Lane in Indian Hill. She says she and her husband got cold feet because they found out a man convicted of attempted murder a decade earlier was living next door. Grant Troja, the homeowner and a businessman whose company owns over 60 Arby’s franchises, sued the Pleatmans for breach of contract. Troja is asking for nearly $360,000 to pay for punitive damages, attorneys' fees and interest.

The parties were unable to resolve the case out of court and after two years of wrangling, the jury trial was set to begin at 10:30 a.m. Monday. Luebbers announced she was going to postpone the trial until 1:15 p.m. because there were not enough jurors available at the time.

But then, Croushore announced that Crysta Pleatman was not able to attend the trial because “she is not in the area.”

Reynolds stressed the need for Pleatman to be there. “She’s on our witness list,” he said.

Luebbers dismissed the court and told Croushore that Pleatman needed to be in the courtroom by 1:15 p.m.

“If she doesn’t get here in time ...,” Croushore asked.

“Don’t even say that,” Luebbers responded.

When the court reconvened, Pleatman was not there. Her husband was. He sat solemnly by his attorney’s side the whole time without saying a word.

Croushore cited numerous legal precedents and argued the trial could continue without Crysta Pleatman. The court could instead rely on Pleatman’s deposition, he said.

Reynolds argued against such a move, saying he intends to call Pleatman as a witness during the trial. He urged Luebbers to reschedule the trial to a time Pleatman could make it, or to order Pleatman to attend.

“We can’t go on without her,” Reynolds said.

Luebbers concluded the discussion Monday by saying she was going to research the legal options available to her. She urged Pleatman to attend the continuation of the trial Tuesday at 9 a.m.