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High court upholds stolen valor ruling
Hat tip, Stripes.com
High court upholds stolen valor ruling
By Scott Shindledecker
Daily Inter Lake | May 13, 2020 1:00 AM
The Montana Supreme Court has ruled in favor of a Whitefish businessman who was defrauded of about a quarter-million dollars in a stolen valor case involving a Virginia man.
According to a previous Daily Inter Lake story, in May 2019 a Flathead County District Court jury awarded $1.7 million in damages to Donald W. Kaltschmidt Jr. after finding Laron D. Shannon liable for fraud and negligent misrepresentation in a case involving an oilfield services company in which Kaltschmidt was a silent investor.
Kaltschmidt, who served in the United States Marine Corps, sued Laron Shannon, Elizabeth Shannon and Oilfield Warriors, LLC, in 2014, alleging Laron Shannon had misrepresented himself as an active U.S. Marine. Shannon dressed in Marine Corps clothing when contacting Kaltschmidt at his Whitefish car dealership and claimed to be active in supporting veterans’ causes, when he “never actively served in the United States Marine Corps or in any other military service branch,” according to the lawsuit complaint.
Shannon, who represented himself in last year’s court proceedings, appealed the award, challenging rulings on evidence by the District Court and procedural rulings that ultimately led to the completion of the trial after Shannon left the courtroom in the middle of the first day of the trial due to what he said was a medical emergency.
{snip}
By Scott Shindledecker
Daily Inter Lake | May 13, 2020 1:00 AM
The Montana Supreme Court has ruled in favor of a Whitefish businessman who was defrauded of about a quarter-million dollars in a stolen valor case involving a Virginia man.
According to a previous Daily Inter Lake story, in May 2019 a Flathead County District Court jury awarded $1.7 million in damages to Donald W. Kaltschmidt Jr. after finding Laron D. Shannon liable for fraud and negligent misrepresentation in a case involving an oilfield services company in which Kaltschmidt was a silent investor.
Kaltschmidt, who served in the United States Marine Corps, sued Laron Shannon, Elizabeth Shannon and Oilfield Warriors, LLC, in 2014, alleging Laron Shannon had misrepresented himself as an active U.S. Marine. Shannon dressed in Marine Corps clothing when contacting Kaltschmidt at his Whitefish car dealership and claimed to be active in supporting veterans’ causes, when he “never actively served in the United States Marine Corps or in any other military service branch,” according to the lawsuit complaint.
Shannon, who represented himself in last year’s court proceedings, appealed the award, challenging rulings on evidence by the District Court and procedural rulings that ultimately led to the completion of the trial after Shannon left the courtroom in the middle of the first day of the trial due to what he said was a medical emergency.
{snip}