Overview

• At Monday’s first civil hearing in Plymouth Superior Court before Judge Daniel O’Shea, Read’s lawyers moved to throw out the O’Keefe family’s negligent infliction of emotional distress claim.
• Defense attorney Damon Seligson argued the parents, brother and niece lack standing because they did not witness the incident or see John O’Keefe until after he was declared dead.
• Plaintiffs countered that Read inflicted additional trauma by allegedly fabricating a conspiracy and fostering a public campaign against the family, citing statements she allegedly made to O’Keefe’s 14-year-old niece.
• The wrongful-death suit, led by Paul O’Keefe, also names C.F. McCarthy’s and the Waterfall Bar & Grille for allegedly overserving and seeks at least $50,000 in damages.
• Read was acquitted of the most serious criminal charges in June but convicted of drunken driving and placed on one year of probation, and the civil case could ultimately compel her testimony under the preponderance standard.