Sex, Marriage, Criminal Charges, and the Firing of a Company Man, Part I By Jorge Alexandria and Lonce LaMon - June 28, 2012
Before a man dies, he will most likely experience a failed romance, career regrets, and being broke. For lawyer Richard Widom, who joined the Los Angeles area workers’ compensation defense firm of Kendig, Stockwell & Gleason in 1978, he may have possibly been broke in the 1970s during his law school days, but there’s no doubt he experienced a failed romance like an atomic bomb explosion along with agonizing career regrets when his world as a partner in the firm he had joined over thirty years prior went up in smoke in March of 2009.
As a big name partner in this California-wide law firm which had evolved in name over time to Stockwell, Harris, Widom, Woolverton, and Muehl, and had a substantial presence in Los Angeles, San Diego, Orange County, Fresno, and San Francisco by 2009, Richard Widom was more than likely making handsome money, had the respect of his colleagues, and was happily married to Lisa Kerner, another lawyer in the “Stockwell Firm” who was younger than Widom and was one of their vice-presidents. Then it all came crashing down after an alleged physical altercation on March 1, 2009 between Lisa and Richard after which she filed criminal charges against him.
Lisa not only filed criminal charges against Richard but she filed for divorce, filed a civil tort case against him, and also filed for a temporary and then a permanent restraining order. The Stockwell Firm notified Widom on April 22nd 2009, that his employment was terminated effective that day based upon Kerner’s claims against him and other claims of misconduct.
Richard Widom then in June of 2009 filed a complaint against Stockwell alleging that Stockwell had terminated his employment without cause “to avoid paying him the salary, benefits, and bonuses he would have earned through his retirement, and the four
This "War Of The Roses" between Lisa Kerner and Richard Widom has now evolved into an epic, nasty, and ensuing legal battle between Lisa Kerner together with The Stockwell Firm and Richard Widom.
million dollars in deferred compensation to which he is entitled.” Then the Stockwell firm cross-complained, and there was then down the road an amended complaint with consequently an amended cross-complaint. Ad nauseum…
This "War Of The Roses" between Lisa Kerner and Richard Widom has now evolved into an epic, nasty, and ensuing legal battle between Lisa Kerner together with The Stockwell Firm against Richard Widom. The Second Appellate District Court of Appeal of the State of California documented in a thicket of eye-crossing legaleeze a 67-page decision which was just certified for publication on April 26, 2012. In that decision at least four rulings by the Trial Court at Stanley Mosk Superior Court in Downtown Los Angeles, from the court room of Susan Bryant-Deason, were overturned away from the favor of Richard Widom and in favor of The Stockwell Firm and Lisa Kerner.
This high-drama has crescendoed out of that incipient March 1st 2009 physical altercation between Lisa and Richard into what is now a story which reads like a cross between a Scott Turow legal thriller and a Lifetime Television for Women drama. Approximately two years after the March 1st 2009 incident, on or about March 21, 2011, Lisa Kerner claimed that Richard Widom broke into her home, stated he was there to “finish the job”, and beat her unconscious. She declared further that she believed she was found two days later and was taken to the hospital. She also declared that she had reported the attack to the police.
The Los Angeles District Attorney’s office declined from the beginning to prosecute Richard Widom on felony criminal charges, however the Los Angeles City Attorney filed a criminal complaint on misdemeanor charges in November of 2009. On February 3, 2010
Lisa Kerner claimed that Richard Widom broke into her home, stated he was there to "finish the job", and beat her unconscious.
a jury found Widom not guilty of spousal abuse, spousal battery, simple assault, and simple battery. On Widom’s motion, the trial court determined that he was factually innocent of the charges and entered an order declaring him factually innocent on March 18th 2010.
In the family law proceeding, the trial court conducted a hearing over several days on Lisa Kerner’s application for a permanent restraining order against Richard Widom. She had previously been granted a temporary restraining order.
In its oral ruling on January 26, 2010, the court stated that Kerner need only prove by a preponderance of the evidence that a simple act of domestic violence had occurred. The court stated that Kerner’s testimony about the events of March 1, 2009, lacked credibility and that her actions on that date and thereafter were inconsistent with her claim that she feared for her safety. The court also stated that Kerner’s description of the events had changed over time and seemed exaggerated. The court found Kerner had suffered injuries in the course of her altercation with Widom on March 1, 2009, but noted that she had admitted to slapping him and previously had described the altercation as a shoving match.
The trial court in the family law proceeding concluded:
"...Ms. Kerner's testimony is among the most incredible testimony I have heard in a very brief period on the bench, but in 40-plus years as a trial lawyer..."
“My own finding is that Ms. Kerner is not a credible witness and that her testimony as to these events is not believed by the court. I choose to believe Mr. Widom’s version of the facts, which is not to say that there is foolproof evidence that the events occurred in the fashion that he says, but on balance, I find his testimony to be more credible.
“In fact, some of Ms. Kerner’s testimony is among the most incredible testimony I have heard in a very brief period on the bench, but in 40-plus years as a trial lawyer, including most specifically her testimony about why she returned to the home because of concern over her cats and stayed there for four days in the face of what she thought was her imminent demise at the hands of Mr. Widom. So, I’m going to deny the request for restraining order on that basis.”
Part two, to be published tomorrow, June 29th 2012….