The 10th Circuit Court of Appeals has upheld a $52 million wrongful-death judgment against author Rena Chynoweth for the murder in 1977 of polygamist leader Rulon Allred.
In a 2-1 decision, the appeals court agreed with a federal judge that although the statute of limitations for wrongful death ran out in 1979, Chynoweth's deliberate concealment of her role in the murder and her subsequent perjury at trial made it impossible for the Allred family to know before 1979 that she was the killer.The Allred family did not discover that Chynoweth had killed Allred until she admitted to shooting the elderly man in her 1990 book "Blood Covenant."
"We are delighted," said James McConkie, attorney for the Allred family. "We think it's wonderful that the court upheld Judge Anderson's decision."
Chynoweth had banked heavily on winning this appeal. U.S. District Judge Aldon Anderson ruled before trial that the statute of limitations did not apply in this matter. Upset by that ruling, Chynoweth declined to participate in the trial to determine how much she owed the Allreds in damages. Instead, she appealed Anderson's pretrial decision.
"We're disappointed," said L.G. Cutler, attorney for Chynoweth. "But we were asking the court to do something that obviously isn't very socially popular. Obviously, Rena doesn't draw any public sympathy."
Chief Judge Monroe McKay dissented from the other two judges in the matter. He agreed with Chynoweth that her arrest for the murder in 1978 and a preliminary trial that found sufficient evidence to trial her for the crime should have put the family on notice that it had a wrongful-death claim against her.
The judge acknowledged that his opinion in favor of a confessed murderer would not be popular, but said, "Courts which enforce statute of limitations are rarely on the side of the angels."
Chynoweth may appeal further, Cutler said. "We could ask the entire 10th Circuit Court to review the matter. With the chief judge dissenting, we think that's a good option." Only three of the 10 judges on the court heard this matter.
Chynoweth and a co-conspirator walked into Allred's office on May 10, 1977, and gunned the man down in front of his wife and patients. Both women were in disguise.
She was arrested and charged with the murder in late 1978. However, Chynoweth lied under oath, saying she was not involved in the killing. Because she was in disguise, witnesses could not identify Chynoweth as the murderer, and a jury acquitted her.
Her former husband, Ervil LeBaron, was later convicted for masterminding the murder.
The Allred family expects to collect only a fraction of the $52,125,000 judgment, McConkie said. "We weren't in this because we thought we could make a lot of money. We wanted to see justice done. We also wanted to win a judgment against her that was large enough to take away from her any of the profit she might enjoy from this evil deed," he said.
If Chynoweth sells the rights of her story to a television or movie producer, the judgment would require her to turn any money she is paid over to the Allred family.
"I do think the Allred family will get some money. Nothing near $52 million, but I think they can get in the thousands of dollars."
The family has not yet tried to collect from Chynoweth, he said.