Attorneys representing defendants in a land dispute against brothers Kevin and Robert Matthews and their family estate filed a motion Monday asking the court to enforce sanctions on the plaintiffs for their alleged false accusations and disregard for legal judgments that hold the defendants as the rightful owners.
The Matthews brothers and their attorneys, Rick Kornis and Franklin Eaton, have accused Douglas Martinson II and several other defendants of orchestrating the theft of a 22-acre property from the Matthews family estate. They also claim Probate Judge Barger and Circuit Court Judge George Day held ex parte communications to ensure an April ruling in favor of the Matthewses was set aside.
In a motion filed Monday to supplement a November emergency motion, the defendants vehemently denied the accusations. They demanded the court find the plaintiffs in contempt for their “flagrant disregard” of the court's orders and for continuing to push “conspiracy theories” and “baseless arguments.”
“At the December 5, 2024 Virtual Status Conference, the Court heard arguments on Defendants-Petitioners’ Emergency Motion. Within these arguments, Kornis and Eaton affirmatively represented and asserted that both they and their clients were under no obligation to obey the Court’s Final Judgment, even after the Judgment was affirmed by the Supreme Court. Kornis and Eaton also attempted to re-argue the validity of the Court’s Judgment despite its affirmance by the Supreme Court as the final adjudication of the ownership of the involved property,” the supplement stated.
According to the motion, Kornis and Eaton were given until December 20 to respond. During that time, they and the other plaintiffs were instructed to “preserve the status quo” regarding the court's final judgment from August 2023, which ruled in favor of the defendant’s claim to the land.
However, the defendant attorneys, including James Bradford for Aldi, Inc., argued that the plaintiffs went against that instruction by filing a notice of claim against Madison County for $250,000,000 for their alleged role in “stealing” the Matthews property, now occupied by multiple retailers.
“These particular Plaintiffs-Respondents reiterate the same baseless arguments and grounds for this Claim that have already been addressed, dismissed, and fully adjudicated by this Court and the Supreme Court,” the defendant attorneys said in the supplemental motion.
The attorneys also cited in their motion statements Kornis and Easton made to 1819 News regarding the case.
“Given the reprehensible and false assertions by Kornis, Eaton and the Matthews that the property was ‘stolen’ by the combined actions this Court and the Probate Court, as well as their personnel, and by Defendants and their counsel, this Court should immediately grant the Emergency Motion, and afford any other relief deemed appropriate by the Court, to compel obedience by Plaintiffs and by Kornis and Eaton to the Final Judgment of the Court, and to protect Defendants-Petitioners from further injury and insult,” the defendant lawyers said.
The plaintiffs’ attorneys said they plan to file a response to the emergency motion supplement.
To connect with the story's author or comment, email daniel.taylor@1819news.com or find him on X and Facebook.
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