Lawyers in Columbia lawsuit tied to arson case argue before Missouri Supreme Court

COLUMBIA, Mo. (KMIZ)

Lawyers argued before the Missouri Supreme Court on Tuesday whether there was legitimate evidence of a conspiracy in a civil case tied to a Columbia arson prosecution.

Lawyers for Merhdad Fotoohighiam and Marcia Green argued before the court in an appeal of a lawsuit Green brought against Fotoohighiam. Green alleged Fotoohighiam conspired to burn down her trailer in 2014 and she later won a $2.75 million verdict in a lawsuit against him.

Fotoohighiam appealed the verdict, with the case reaching the state's highest court.

Michael Berry, the lawyer for Fotoohighiam, argued that Green's side presented “a multiplicity of conspiracy theories” about how Fotoohighiam was allegedly involved in the arson. Those theories conflicted with each other and were invalid, Berry argued.

Berry argued that Fotoohighiam had never met one of the conspirators, despite the fact that the man worked for him.

Andrew Veatch, a lawyer for Green, countered that even if one of the alleged conspirators had no involvement in burning Green's trailer, that did not mean other named conspirators were not involved.

“The involvement of one does not exclude the involvement of others,” Veatch told the court.

Veatch also argued that Fotoohighiam could solicit the man in an arson scheme without having met him in person.

Last year a jury acquitted Fotoohighiam of an arson charge related to the same case. Jury members said investigators couldn't prove beyond a reasonable doubt Fotoohighiam paid one of his employees $500 to burn down Green's property.

Fotoohighiam is charged with conspiracy to commit first-degree murder and attempted first-degree murder. He was accused of hiring hit men to kill two people including a Boone County judge.

No hearings are set in that case, according to online court records.

The state supreme court will deliver its judgment in Tuesday's appeal at a later date.