The family of former University student Yeardley Love plans to file a wrongful death suit in Charlottesville Circuit Court, the attorney of Yeardley Love's mother Sharon Love indicated Thursday. A jury in February convicted former University student George Huguely of the second-degree murder of Love, his ex-girlfriend.
Mahlon Funk, Love's attorney, requested access to the Commonwealth's files from the February criminal case in preparation for a possible suit. Funk has not released information about who the civil suit would charge.
Virginia's statute of limitations requires wrongful death suits - civil suits seeking compensation for a death - to be filed within two years of the death, which means Love's suit must be filed by May 3.
"[I]f someone was responsible for controlling Huguely's behavior, they would be sued in the civil case," said attorney Robert Yates, who appeared in court Thursday to follow up on a request he made in March on behalf of several media organizations for the release of documents and evidence from the criminal case. "Consider if a mental patient escapes and kills someone - you could sue the hospital because they were supposed to control this person."
Judge Edward Hogshire did not rule on either Yates' or Funk's request for access to evidence.
Meanwhile, Huguely's defense attorneys hinted last month in Charlottesville District Court they may file for retrial, asking the court to set aside time for a hearing on a motion for retrial. No motion has been filed.
Commonwealth's Attorney Dave Chapman declined to comment on the case.
"We're trying to keep our comments to the hearings in court and refrain from commenting outside of court," Chapman said.
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