Suit claims law firm defamed accused killer in website statements
A woman sued for the alleged murder of her uncle—who was also her husband—has filed a lawsuit claiming a Washington state law firm and one of its lawyers defamed her with statements at its website.
The July 16 suit (PDF) filed on behalf of Tracy McNamara, targets the lawyer and law firm that sued McNamara in a wrongful death action, the Seattle Times reports. McNamara’s suit claims the lawyer and her firm made “irrefutably false and defamatory” statements in a bid to “aggressively and zealously advertise for additional business and to prejudice potential jurors.”
McNamara’s suit names as defendants lawyer Karen Koehler and her law firm, Stritmatter Kessler Whelan Koehler Moore Kahler. The suit alleges defamation and violation of Washington consumer protection law. John Henry Browne represents McNamara in the wrongful death suit, and also represents her in the new suit against Koehler and her firm.
McNamara’s husband, Tim McNamara, died from a gunshot wound to the back of his head outside their home in Belize on Christmas Day 2014. His death was originally ruled a suicide, but the cause of death was later changed to murder, the suit says. A warrant was reportedly issued for Tracy McNamara’s arrest, but she had already left the country, according to the suit.
McNamara’s suit says the admissible evidence against her “is nonexistent,” so the Stritmatter law firm sought to try the wrongful death case “in the court of public opinion.” The suit claims false statements on the Stritmatter website included:
• A photo of McNamara with the phrase “Murder & incest in Belize with ties to WA State.” McNamara has not been convicted of either murder or incest, the suit says.
• A reference to the wrongful death suit against McNamara underneath the phrase, “Below is small sample of just a few of our over 150 cases resulting in at least seven and eight figures for our clients.” There has been neither a liability finding nor an award in the case, the suit says.
• An incorrect listing of Tim McNamara’s assets incorrectly portrays McNamara “as a cold-hearted gold-digger who murdered Tim McNamara for property she already owned,” the suit says.
Koehler’s lawyer told the Seattle Times that the lawsuit is “retaliatory” and “utterly meritless.”
The Seattle Times calls the suit “the latest turn in an ongoing squabble” between Koehler and Browne. In May, Koehler wrote on her blog that Browne had called her a “whack job,” insulted her looks, and bullied and disparaged her. Browne doesn’t dispute making those statements, but he claims Koehler “started it,” the Seattle Times says. Prior coverage by the Seattle Times is here.
