Wrongly accused, Heidi Lesinski dropped from suit
Plainti ’s attorney ‘misunderstood’ her identity
Special to the Rappahannock News
In a motion to le an amended complaint in Rappahannock County Circuit Court on November 18, local real estate agent Heidi Lesinski was dropped from a negligence lawsuit naming her and several other realtors. In July 2017, Charles Roth, the plainti in the suit, sustained injuries while looking at a property on Aileen Road in Flint Hill.
According to the original complaint led in July 2019, “[Roth] was walking the Property in the company of Defendant Lesinski [when he] stepped onto a concrete slab that surrounded the well pump … obscured from view by a metal covering” that concealed a deep hole. Roth stepped on the covering, which collapsed, and fell into the hole.
Roth’s complaint stated that Lesinski, the listing agent for the property, had been with him at the time of the incident and should have known about that particular hazard.
Only Lesinski wasn’t at the Aileen Road property with Roth. She was vacationing in Maine 800 miles away.
“[L]egal counsel for Ms. Lesinski advised [Roth’s attorney Rex Edwards] that the assertion regarding Ms. Lesinski was inaccurate,” reads Edwards’ motion to amend the original complaint, “as Ms. Lesinski had not been on the property with the Plainti as alleged in the Complaint and, in fact had never gone to the subject property with the Plainti at any time.
“Upon review, [Edwards} determined that he had mistakenly and unintentionally misunderstood the identity of the realtor present with Plainti … it was not Heidi Lesinski.”
“If you ever wonder what it may be like to be falsely accused, I have enough personal experience to write a book,” said Lesinski in an email to this newspaper on Monday, referring to both the Roth case and an assault accusation she was found not guilty of a er a bench trial in May 2017.
“This most recent case involves a man I have never met alleging that I was present during an incident that occurred when I was actually 800 miles away,” Lesinski continued in her statement. “After providing proof of my whereabouts, Roth's attorney, Rex Edwards took responsibility for erroneously putting me at the center of a half a million dollar lawsuit. It is my opinion that he also failed to have his client review the facts alleged in the lawsuit before ling it.
“If true, this is an inexcusable error, leaving me with a damaged reputation, legal fees and not even an apology for the harm [Edwards] caused. If Roth did read the complaint and failed to correct the record, I shudder to think what may have happened had I not had a rock solid alibi.”
Edwards could not be reached for comment.
Still named as defendants in the suit are Judith Lewis of King of Prussia, Pennsylvania; NM Management Inc. and New Millennium RE Inc. of Alexandria; and New Millennium Warrenton, LLC.