Settlement talks to begin in DuBose case

Talks surrounding a potential multimillion-dollar wrongful death settlement in the case of a man killed by a University of Cincinnati police officer can now begin, after a judge appointed the man's daughter to oversee his estate.

On Thursday, Hamilton County Common Pleas Judge Robert Winkler – assigned in place of his brother, Probate Judge Ralph "Ted" Winkler, who was injured in a motorcycle crash – ruled that Sam DuBose's 18-year-old daughter, Raegan Brooks, is "suitable to represent and manage the estate."

The ruling brought to an end a four-month court battle that began after both DuBose's mother and an attorney representing his father filed competing applications in Hamilton County Probate Court seeking to administer the estate.

DuBose was shot and killed in July by the now-former officer, Ray Tensing, as he started to drive away from a traffic stop near UC's campus. Tensing has been charged with murder.

At a hearing in September, an attorney for UC indicated that the university is seeking to settle a wrongful death claim. A claim has not been filed, although the estate was opened in probate court to pursue one.

Brooks, a freshman at Cincinnati State, filed an application to oversee the estate Nov. 2. DuBose’s mother, Audrey DuBose, and his father, Sam Johnson, filed applications over the summer. Audrey DuBose withdrew her application Thursday.

Winkler, in his ruling, said because Sam DuBose wasn't married, state law gives his surviving children the right to oversee his estate. Brooks is one of DuBose’s 11 children. She would be responsible for making sure all the next of kin are treated fairly.

“Is it your intention to keep the peace within the family?” her attorney, Konrad Kircher, asked in court.

“Of course,” Brooks responded.

Michael Wright, an attorney for Audrey DuBose, said the family initially wanted her – as “matriarch of the family” – to oversee the estate.

After numerous questions were raised about Audrey DuBose, including whether she directed witnesses to ignore subpoenas, it was determined Brooks should apply to oversee the estate.

“We needed to get back to what we wanted to do,” Wright said in an interview, “which is to try to get this resolved for the family.”

Asked about when settlement talks with UC would begin, he said: “We will be discussing this matter shortly.”

Attorney Blake Maislin, who is representing Johnson, said his ultimate goal was to make sure there was proper oversight of the case.

He said Johnson, as an immediate family member, still could collect a share of a wrongful death settlement.

Maislin also talked about his willingness to handle the case at “a capped rate.” According to court documents, Maislin agreed to cap his fees at one-third of a settlement or $400,000, whichever was less.

"Really, our main issue," he said, "was oversight over the size and complex nature of the case."