Judge delays civil case in Carl DeBrodie death

A federal judge partially granted a request by Sherry Paulo and Anthony R. Flores to stay the civil case brought against them stemming from the death of Carl DeBrodie.

Carolyn Summers, DeBrodie’s mother, filed a wrongful death lawsuit in January against Paulo and Flores, as well as a litany of other defendants, claiming the two owners and operators of Second Chance Homes in Fulton contributed to the death of her 31-year-old developmentally disabled son.

In early June, Paulo and Flores were charged with involuntary manslaughter, felony neglect, felony abandonment of a corpse and two misdemeanor counts of making a false report of a missing person.

Paulo and Flores requested the court stay the proceedings of the civil lawsuit until the criminal case was completed, arguing that it would be impossible to avoid prejudicing themselves because the two cases are so interconnected.

Summers’ lawyers disagreed, but Western District Judge Douglas Harpool ultimately ruled that Paulo and Flores would not have to respond to any request for discovery in the civil case until Jan. 1, 2019 or when the criminal case wraps up, whichever comes first.

The investigation into DeBrodie’s death was launched in April 2017 after his body was found encased in concrete in a Fulton storage unit.

Full coverage of the case of Carl DeBrodie can be found by following this link.