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Judge Narrows Karen Read Wrongful-Death Suit, Lets Most O’Keefe Family Claims Proceed

The ruling removes only the niece’s negligent‑infliction count, leaving emotional‑distress and wrongful‑death allegations to move ahead toward a November hearing.

John O'Keefe's family in court, mother Peggy O'Keefe at center and brother Paul O'Keefe at right, as the Karen Read defense team argues at the Massachusetts Supreme Judicial Court to have some of the charges against her thrown out on Wednesday, Nov. 6, 2024.
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Overview

  • Judge Daniel J. O’Shea dismissed the negligent infliction of emotional distress claim brought by John O’Keefe’s niece.
  • He allowed the niece’s reckless or intentional emotional distress claim to continue, along with similar claims by O’Keefe’s parents and brother and the wrongful death count.
  • The two Canton bars named as defendants denied wrongdoing, and the judge dismissed only the niece’s negligent‑infliction claim against them while keeping other claims intact.
  • O’Shea cited allegations that Karen Read woke the teen around 4:30 a.m. discussing a possible collision and noted the niece’s status as a vulnerable minor, supporting a reckless‑infliction theory.
  • The next hearing is set for Nov. 21 with no civil trial date scheduled, and Read remains on probation for an OUI conviction after June acquittals on murder‑related charges as her team pursues counter‑litigation against investigators.