Hearing Thursday: Show Cause for Contempt – Bonnie Stern and Lyndal Harrington

Hearings continue in Houston in the Conspiracy to Defame case brought by Plaintiff Virgie Arthur against Defendants Howard K. Stern, Bonnie Stern, Larry Birkhead, Art Harris, Harvey Levin, TMZ, Nelda “Rose” Turner, Lyndal Harrington, and Teresa Stephens.  Attorney for the Plaintiff, Neil McCabe, and his colleagues are currently embroiled in a contentious battle to have defendants turn over their computers and electronic media for forensic analysis, a process through which data and documents, such as emails, can be retrieved and judged for their relevancy and discoverable value.

The Hearing on Thursday starts at 8:00AM and is expected to last three hours.  Defendants Bonnie Stern and Lyndal Harrington or their respective representatives are each expected to face the judge to present an argument as to the reason the defendant should not be held in contempt for not turning in hard drives to Special Master Craig Ball when the Court first issued the order.  At the conclusion of the previous hearing in Houston’s 280th District Court, McCabe handed two documents to Judge Lindsay for her signature.  These were the motions to compel Misses Stern and Harrington to appear on Thursday, May 21.

Lyndal Harrington had first claimed her PC was destroyed when Hurricane Ike flooded her residence, but later discovered it was still operational.  Shortly thereafter, she claimed her PC was stolen during a break-in.  Mr. McCabe intends to prove the falsity of Miss Harrington’s claim by presenting in court a statement authored by the responding policeman which purports that the break-in appeared to the officer as having been staged to look like a burglary.

Bonnie Stern filed bankruptcy in California just prior to the deadline by which she was supposed to turn in her computer.  Because of the way the laws are written, the bankruptcy filing brought Virgie’s entire Texas State case to a halt.  In legal terms, Miss Stern’s bankruptcy filing placed a “stay” on Virgie’s case.  Because of the stay, Mr. McCabe’s legal pursuit to compel the defendants to abide by Court’s ruling with respect to producing their hard drives immediately drew to a halt.  However, McCabe went to California and filed a motion to Lift the Stay that Miss Stern caused.  His motion was heard and he won.  Stern appealed the Lifting of the Stay and the court struck her down without benefit of an argument from Mr. McCabe.

Bonnie Stern will still have to answer the Court when Judge Lindsay asks her why she shouldn’t be held in contempt for disobeying the court’s previous order demanding she turn in her PC.  McCabe may argue the surreptitious nature of the bankruptcy action by claiming it was nothing more than a delay tactic.

Most notably, Thursday’s appearance of Bonnie Stern and Lyndal Harrington appears to be the “one last chance” that Judge Lyndsay mentioned in last Friday’s hearing.  What lay ahead for Miss Stern and Miss Harrington will most assuredly depend on how convincing their arguments are to Judge Lindsay’s ears.  The hearing should be very interesting.

Arthur_vs_Stern_etal_Harrington_Order_to_Show_Cause_Contempt.pdf

Arthur_vs_Stern_etal_Bonnie_Stern_Order_to_Show_Cause_Contempt.pdf

*Update*

According tp the latest documents filed by Ms. Stern,  she will not apppear at the hearing. Also, the police officer in Lyndal Harrington’s part of the lawsuit will attend and testify at the May 21st hearing about the burglary Harrington alleges happened.

Defendant_Bonnie_Stern_Answer_to_Show_Cause.pdf

Bonnie_Stern_Declaration_with_exhibit_1.pdf

Bonnie_Stern_Declaration_Exhibit_4.pdf

Bonnie_Stern_Declaration_Exhibit_5.pdf