Was lawsuit against mayor’s daughter settled?
November 18, 2008 at 3:45 pm by Mara Shalhoup in NewsUPDATE: Case settled.
A lawsuit against Kai Franklin Graham, who was supposed to go on trial yesterday in federal bankruptcy court, might have been resolved.
Free At Last Bail Bonds sued Graham in 2005 to recover $185,000 the company lost after her then-husband, major cocaine trafficker Tremayne “Kiki” Graham, cut his ankle monitor and went on the run. Kai Franklin Graham, the daughter of Atlanta Mayor Shirley Franklin, filed for bankruptcy to avoid having to repay his bond.
In court documents, Free At Last has claimed Graham misled authorities about her financial situation and her knowledge of her then-husband’s whereabouts, and therefore shouldn’t be allowed to receive bankruptcy protection.
The most recent hearing and filings in the lawsuit indicated that the case couldn’t be resolved.
“We’ve talked about [a settlement] many times,” Cameron McCord, an attorney for Free At Last Bail Bonds, said during a hearing last month. “I just think we’re too far apart.”
But considering that the trial didn’t start as scheduled — and that no new date has been set — it’s likely that Free At Last and Graham reached some sort of agreement.
“The only other possibility is that the matter was settled,” says bankruptcy attorney Howard Rothbloom, who is not involved in the case. He adds that if the lawsuit did in fact settle, it might take several days for the settlement to show up in the court file. “Ultimately, there has to be something on the docket.”
Attorneys for Graham and Free At Last did not return phone calls.
November 18th, 2008 at 8:06 pm
The lawsuit had no merit and eas settled for less than $5,000.
-ndano