Lawyers drop killer Martens for Corbetts’ civil action
LAWYERS for the American man who murdered Jason Corbett have told a court they can no longer represent him in a civil action related to the killing.
Thomas Martens (67), who along with his daughter Molly Martens-Corbett (33) was jailed for the Limerick man’s murder, had been seeking to use two insurance policies to cover his legal costs in the case.
However, his lawyers are now seeking to withdraw from representing him as the insurance company says the allegations in the lawsuit do not trigger any obligation for it to provide him with a defence team or an indemnity.
In the lawsuit, Mr Corbett’s estate is seeking at least $50,000 (€42,240) in damages for his wrongful death. The civil action was brought by Mr Corbett’s brother-in-law David Lynch, in his capacity as executor of the estate. Martens and his daughter were both jailed last August for between 20 and 25 years for the second degree murder of Mr Corbett at his home in Winston-Salem, North Carolina, on August 2, 2015.
Both are being sued by Mr Corbett’s estate for damages, as is Martens’s wife Sharon, who was not charged with any offence. No issues have been raised about the legal representation for Molly Martens-Corbett or Sharon Martens in the lawsuit. In a court filing, attorneys Kenk Hamrick and Ann Rowe said they were retained in the civil action by Thomas Martens’s insurance provider, State Farm Fire and Casualty Company, last July.
However, last month the insurance firm informed Thomas Martens it was not obliged to provide a defence team or an indemnity for him under the terms of his personal liability and homeowners insurance policies. The lawyers say they were subsequently instructed to withdraw as his counsel due to the “disclaimer of coverage”.
They have now asked the Davidson County Superior Court in North Carolina for permission to come off record. If approved, it could mean Martens may have to represent himself in the lawsuit unless he can find another source of funds to pay for a defence team.