VIRGINIA BEACH (AP) – Several parties to a wrongful death lawsuit over the fatal police shooting of a Black man on the Virginia Beach oceanfront last year have asked a judge to enforce the USD3 million settlement agreement announced earlier this month.
The city of Virginia Beach and the family of Donovon Lynch – a cousin of musician and Virginia Beach native Pharrell Williams – announced the settlement agreement on December 13. But Lynch’s father, Wayne Lynch, has since told local news outlets that he has parted ways with his attorneys and that the settlement isn’t finalised.
Last week, several parties to the matter filed a joint motion asking a judge to enforce the announced deal.
The joint motion was filed by Thomas Martin and Justin Fairfax, who have served as attorneys for Wayne Lynch, as well as attorneys for the city and the officer who shot Donovon Lynch.
The motion said that an outside party advised Wayne Lynch not to sign the agreement, “which is against the interests of the Estate and contrary to Plaintiff’s prior agreement”.
Court records show that the motion was referred to a judge on Tuesday.
Efforts by The Associated Press (AP) to reach Wayne Lynch weren’t immediately successful.
But Lynch wrote in an emailed statement on Tuesday that the settlement had not been finalised, TV station WVEC-TV reported.
“I regret that it was publicly disclosed before all non-monetary terms were finalised,” Lynch’s statement said.
He also wrote that Fairfax, a former lieutenant governor, and Martin were no longer representing him. On Wednesday, he filed a motion to substitute Fairfax and Martin with a new attorney, court records show.
Fairfax spokesperson Lauren Burke said in a statement provided to the AP on Wednesday that Fairfax and Martin remain “the attorneys of record in this case”.
