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May 14, 2008 10:52 am US/Central
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$1M Settlement Reached In Rep. Janklow Crash
SIOUX FALLS, S.D. (AP) ―
The family of the motorcyclist killed in a fatal crash with former South Dakota Rep. Bill Janklow settled its wrongful death lawsuit for $1 million, one of the lawyers said Wednesday.
Randy Scott of Hardwick, Minn., was killed Aug. 16, 2003, when his Harley-Davidson struck the back of a Cadillac that Janklow drove through a stop sign at an intersection near Trent in eastern South Dakota.
Scott, 55, was killed instantly. Janklow, 68, was injured.
Scott's family sued the United States for $25 million after the U.S. attorney in Minnesota concluded Janklow was on official business at the time of the crash, which made the federal government responsible for financial damages.
Both sides had been unable to resolve it out of court and the trial was scheduled to start June 16 in Minneapolis, but the family opted to settle Tuesday afternoon.
"Now that it's all over, we can get closure," said Scott's mother, Marcella Scott of Luverne, Minn. "And so many people have been helpful and given us the strength to go on. We would like to thank our lawyer, Ron Meshbesher, for helping us."
Meshbesher said federal attorneys settled "begrudgingly." Because it was a nondependent case, meaning Scott's two children are adults supporting themselves, the $1 million is about as much as was possible to get, he said.
Janklow has not commented on the accident but said Wednesday he's glad Scott's family members can move on.
"I'm happy that part of it's over. My mom has always said if money can fix it, it isn't a problem. And money couldn't fix this problem. Somebody died who never did anything wrong. And he died in a young part of his life and I understand that because I was responsible for it. From that standpoint, I'm glad they brought that part of it to closure for their own sake. But it doesn't bring somebody back and it doesn't fix the problem," Janklow said.
Meshbesher said if the Federal Tort Claims Act had not come into play, he could have sued Janklow's vehicle insurance company and him personally, and pursued punitive damages -- all of which were not allowed because he was covered as a government worker.
"The Tort Claims Act ought not to apply and the insurance (company) should be responsible and not the American taxpayer," he said.
"If this case had been in state courts, as I believe it should have been, we would have been able to recover punitive damages for outrageous conduct because he had been speeding all his life."
Janklow has not commented on the accident and did not immediately return a telephone call seeking comment.
A spokesman for the U.S. Attorney's office in Minneapolis said: "We are currently working on the settlement agreement and it will be filed when executed."
Janklow, who has returned to private practice as a lawyer, was a dominating force in South Dakota politics for 30 years. After serving as attorney general, the Republican was governor for 16 years, serving four terms in two separate eight-year stints. In 2002, he was elected as South Dakota's lone member of the U.S. House.
Janklow has diabetes and testified he had not eaten the day of the accident and likely blacked out when he approached the intersection.
A jury in his boyhood home of Flandreau convicted him of second-degree manslaughter in December 2003. He resigned from Congress a month later, served 100 days in jail, paid a $5,000 fine, temporarily lost his law license and was forbidden from driving during his probation.
He finished his sentence in the Minnehaha County Jail in May 2004. His three-year probation ended Jan. 22, 2007.
Because Janklow was given a suspended imposition of sentence, his criminal record was cleared.
Randy Scott's son, JR Scott of Herreid, is helping to keep the family farm operating, said Marcella Scott, who recently turned 80.
"We kind of work together. We have extra men," she said.
"I'm healthy and I hope I can get keep going. This has been hard on us."
Marcella Scott said the settlement allows the family to move on.
"Mother's Day was hard again this year, not having Randy," she said.
"You always hurt inside."
(© 2008 The Associated Press. All Rights Reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten, or redistributed.)