Community Corner
Brittany Murphy's Mom Drops Suit Against Lawyers
Attorneys for Sharon Murphy file court papers asking that her case against Steiner & Libo be dismissed.
Brittany Murphy's mother and a law firm have settled a legal malpractice suit she filed against the attorneys that represented her in a lawsuit against the builders of the home in the Hollywood Hills where the actress died.
Attorneys for Sharon Murphy filed court papers on Monday with Los Angeles Superior Court Judge Abraham Khan asking that her case against Steiner & Libo be dismissed. Khan's clerk on Thursday confirmed that a settlement was reached, but no terms were divulged.
Sharon Murphy maintained in her lawsuit filed in December 2011 that Steiner & Libo lawyers never told her she could amend her construction defects lawsuit filed in August 2006 against the home's builders to make it a wrongful death lawsuit.
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Brittany Murphy died in the house on Dec. 20, 2009, at age 32 from a combination of pneumonia, anemia and elevated levels of legally prescribed and over-the-counter drugs, including hydrocodone, acetaminophen, chlorpheniramine and l-methamphetamine, the active ingredient in some nasal decongestants. Her death was ruled accidental.
Sharon Murphy's complaint against Steiner & Libo was brought nearly two years after her daughter's death.
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The actress' husband, 39-year-old Simon Monjack, died in the same house on May 23, 2010, from acute pneumonia and anemia.
Sharon Murphy, who initially dismissed claims that toxic mold could have caused the deaths, later became convinced that mold was the culprit last summer when she was trying to sell the home.
The current suit maintained that lawyers with Steiner & Libo were obligated to let Sharon Murphy know she was giving up her right to revise the original complaint to a wrongful death suit when she settled with the builders for $600,000.
Lawyers for Steiner & Libo maintained the settlement agreement with the builders did not prevent Sharon Murphy from pursuing a wrongful death claim.
Sharon and Brittany Murphy bought the five-bedroom home from singer Britney Spears in June 2003 for $3.85 million. Spears lived there with Justin Timberlake until they broke up.
