2012 CASE OF THE YEAR FINALIST
Ciancio v. Fowler Software Design, LLC, et al.
Gregory Gold and Sommer Luther of The Gold Law Firm, LLC; and Ross Pulkrabek and Daniel Wartell of Jones & Keller, PC
On December 30, 2009, William Rex Fowler shot and killed Thomas Paul Ciancio at the offices of Fowler Software Design (FSD). Fowler then placed the muzzle of the gun under his own chin and pulled the trigger.
Incredibly, Fowler survived. At his criminal trial for first degree murder, Fowler was found guilty and sentenced to life. He was destitute from having paid medical and legal bills.
In 2009, Fowler, the founder, CEO and majority owner of FSD, transferred approximately $175,000 from FSD’s line of credit and “donated” it to the Church of Scientology. FSD’s President Laura Zaspel, a fellow Scientologist, learned of the embezzlement. Zaspel also knew he had done this before.
In the aftermath, Zaspel and Fowler reached a compromise. Fowler surrendered majority ownership and control of FSD to Zaspel. Fowler transferred ownership of FSD’s office building to a new company, “Delati,” owned by Zaspel and two other FSD members. Zaspel allowed Fowler to remain as chief financial officer in charge of the company’s accounting system, which only he understood.
Other FSD employees including Ciancio, the chief operating officer, became aware of the Fowler situation. Ciancio pushed for more transparency in FSD’s accounting system and believed Fowler manipulated the finances. Disgusted, Ciancio resigned from FSD in November 2009.
After Ciancio resigned, a disagreement developed between him and FSD over money. Ciancio’s figures showed that FSD owed him thousands of dollars. Fowler did not want to pay Ciancio and even took the position that Ciancio owed FSD money.
Zaspel asserted her authority and agreed to settle with Ciancio for approximately $10,000. The day before Fowler murdered Ciancio, Zaspel instructed Ciancio to meet Fowler at FSD’s offices to sign a release and pick up the check.
The lawyers in the wrongful death case reviewed emails between Fowler and Zaspel filled with indecipherable Scientology code words and phrases sent in the final days before the shooting. They noticed in one email to Zaspel, Fowler referred to Ciancio as an “avowed enemy.” The lawyers tracked down an obscure “fair game” policy that applied to “enemies” of Scientology and Scientologists.
After spending countless hours deciphering emails, studying Scientology, locating Scientology policies, identifying credible witnesses who could authenticate these policies, and collaborating with other trial lawyers in the state – the lawyers at last had a theory. The lawyers alleged that Zaspel, a fellow high-level Scientologist, knew or should have known that by calling Ciancio an “avowed enemy,” Fowler was making veiled threats of physical harm to Ciancio, and that Zaspel needlessly put Ciancio in danger by scheduling the meeting with Fowler and ignoring other, safer alternatives.
The lawyers surmised that at least either Zaspel, FSD or Delati had insurance coverage for their own negligent conduct. The lawyers sued Zaspel, FSD and Delati for negligence and premises liability based on their decision to invite Ciancio to meet with Fowler at FSD’s offices without warning Ciancio of Fowler’s coded threats.
FSD and Delati both had substantial policies. Through discovery, the lawyers uncovered other ways in which Zaspel and Fowler’s Scientology-coded communications foreshadowed the extreme danger to Ciancio. The team ultimately persuaded five different insurance defense firms, as well as outside coverage counsel, to settle the case for the limits of FSD’s and Delati’s insurance policies, giving Ciancio’s wife and four young children some sense of justice.