BUSINESS

Judge delays Indian Hill real estate case until 2016

Emilie Eaton
eeaton@enquirer.com

Judge Jody Luebbers has delayed until January a civil suit over a $1.2 million Indian Hill real estate deal.

She delayed the case because Crysta Pleatman, the main defendant in the Hamilton County Common Pleas Court case, was not in the area and could not attend the trial, according to Pleatman’s attorney.

The move comes after Charles Reynolds, attorney for Grant Troja, who is suing Pleatman and her husband Dr. Stephen Pleatman for breach of contract, served a copy of a subpoena to Crysta Pleatman on Monday by “leaving it at her usual place of residence,” according to court documents.

The subpoena ordered Pleatman to “appear and provide testimony as a witness” in court Tuesday morning.

But in a brief to the court on Monday evening, Pleatman’s attorney Paul Croushore said Pleatman would not appear.

“Mrs. Pleatman tonight by phone stated that she does not intend to attend the trial at any period, now or at any time in the future, and that she is not presently physically located in the Cincinnati area,” Croushore wrote in the brief.

Paul Croushore (left), attorney for plaintiffs Crysta and Dr. Stephen Pleatman (right), talks with Dr. Pleatman after Judge Jody Luebbers granted the Pleatmans a continuance.

And in an email to the Enquirer at 8:40 a.m. Tuesday, Crysta Pleatman reiterated that she would not be in court.

“It is NOT a bizarre move as the Enquirer reported, it is actually a calculated and quite legal protest against the judge. She needs to remove herself from this case,” Pleatman wrote.

Crysta Pleatman poses last September with a sign that reads “Shame on You Sibcy Cline.”

At 9 a.m., as the case was set to begin, Crysta Pleatman posted a long post on her Facebook page detailing how “an elected judge has continuously made bad rulings in our case against Sibcy Cline.” Her husband sat in the gallery of the courtroom solemnly, not saying anything.

On Monday after Luebbers made the decision to delay the trial, Reynolds said the trial could have continued without Crysta Pleatman but the plaintiffs wanted her present.

The unorthodox and hyper-contentious case began nearly two years ago after Pleatman and her husband 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. Troja paid hefty expenses moving out of his home, getting a new apartment and preparing for the Pleatmans to move in, only for them to back out at the last minute, according to court documents. Additionally, he says he was not able to sell the home after Crysta Pleatman became very vocal about the case by posting to social media and hiring a pilot last year to fly a banner over the Western & Southern Open.

The parties were unable to resolve the case out of court and after two years of wrangling, the jury trial was set to begin Monday. However, Crysta Pleatman did not show up.

Then, even after Reynolds delivered a subpoena to Pleatman’s residence on Monday, Crysta Pleatman said she intended not to attend the jury trial Tuesday.

The Pleatmans’ attorney Croushore said Crysta Pleatman did not need to attend because she was still being represented by her council and because Dr. Pleatman planned on attending. In a brief to the court, he cited numerous cases backing up his argument.

“As Mrs. Pleatman is represented by counsel, and as Dr. Pleatman is present to do what is needed for the defendants, plaintiff may not be able to continue to abuse Mrs. Pleatman,” Croushore wrote.

Lawyers continue to debate other issues

In addition to debating whether Pleatman is required to attend the trial, the attorneys are considering whether a third-party defendant should be forced to testify during the trial.

After Troja filed his initial suit in 2013, the Pleatmans filed a conspiracy counterclaim against Troja, their real estate agent Nat Comisar and Sibcy Cline, claiming the three purposely did not tell them about the man convicted of attempted murder living next door.

In early June, Luebbers dismissed the third-party defendants from the case after finding that there was no conspiracy between the third parties and Troja.

But in court documents filed on Sunday, Croushore argued that one of the third-party defendants, Robert Sibcy, the president of Sibcy Cline, Inc., should still have to testify during the trial.

James Brockman, Sibcy Cline’s attorney, filed a brief a day later, arguing that Sibcy should not have to testify because he is no longer a party in the case.

”It is just another example of the Pleatmans’ harassing tactics,” Brockman wrote on Monday.

Additionally, as of Tuesday, Crysta Pleatman had not paid a $26,000 fine levied on her a month ago for writing emails to witnesses, a direct violation of an order by Luebbers.

In a July 8 email, Croushore said the Pleatmans had no intentions of paying the fine.

“Get this straight, Dr. Pleatman will pay you zero. Ever,” Croushore wrote to Reynolds. “You can pay him, but he sure as hell is not paying you.”

“Similarly, I am not your friend or your colleague, but a man who holds you in contempt,” Croushore continued. “You feel free to ask the judge anything you want.”

Since then, Pleatman has sent at least one email to a witness, according to court documents. On July 23, Pleatman wrote this email to Nat Comisar from her iWatch.

”You are a liar and we can prove it! I can’t believe that you have allowed your lies to hurt our family. You lied to keep your job –but this has gone too far. Tell the truth as the church expects you to do!”

On Monday, Luebbers said she wanted to discuss the sanctions with both of the Pleatmans present.

The next time all the parties are expected to meet is in 60 days. The jury trial is scheduled to continue on Jan. 11. It will appear before Luebbers or a visiting judge, depending on Luebbers’ criminal docket schedule.