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Taking a look at the “DEFENDANT’S MOTION TO DISMISS” in the civil action for the wrongful death of Gerald Morelock filed against Billy Lane, the motion is very basic in its composition.

The motion was filed by Jeffrey Vernis ESQ of the Palm Beach law firm Vernis & Bowling on October 26 with the Brevard County Clerks Office in Viera.

The case record now reflects that Billy Lane has added another attorney on his defense team in the civil action. Newly added attorney Terence R. Perkins is partner of a Daytona Beach law firm that handles both criminal, personal injury and insurance law.

There is still no attorney of record listed for DaimlerChrysler the other defendant named in the suit. However, the law firm of Vernis & Bowling does list DaimlerChrysler corporation as one of their clients. There has been no official statement released from the DaimlerChrysler corporation yet regarding the suit.

The attorney for the plaintiff, Dolores J. Morelock is Sammy S. Cacciatore JR of the Melbourne law firm Nance Cacciatore. Sammy S. Cacciatore filed a auto negligence suit against William D. Lane and the DaimlerChrysler corporation on October 2 for the wrongful death of Gerald V. Morelock. Mr. Morelock was killed on September 4 when the pickup Billy Lane was driving hit him head on while riding his 1983 Yamaha motor scooter. A crash report filed by the Florida Highway patrol stated that Billy Lane had crossed the double yellow lines on Highway A1A in an attempt to pass 3 vehicles. The report also found Billy Lane to be under the influence of an alcoholic beverage with a blood level of 0.192.

What you are about to read are lines taken from the actual motion to dismiss filed in the case. You will notice links on some of the legal terms by the difference in color of text. These links when clicked on will take you to the definition of that legal term to give you a better understanding of what this document is saying.

I have chose to use the law dictionary at www.law.com for this purpose, as I think that the definitions in their dictionary are more concise, yet easier to understand for the common layperson.

OK, so on with the motion:
1. This is a wrongful death action filed on behalf of the Plaintiff, resulting from an automobile accident, which occurred on or about September 4, 2006.

2. That Plaintiff’s complaint against this Defendant purportedly is predicated upon negligence, however, the Plaintiff has failed to state a cause for action for negligence.

3. That in count 1 of the Plaintiff’s complaint, the Plaintiff purportedly alleges a claim for negligence, however, no where within its count, except for the heading does it set forth the required elements of negligence, specifically: (1) a legal duty to protect the party seeking relief under the circumstances; and (2) negligent failure to comply with said duty.

4. In order to state a cause of action for negligence, the above two elements, together with an allegation that the injury to the party seeking relief was a result of the negligence, and a claim of damages must be pled. See Cintron V. Osmose Wood Preserving, 681. So2d 859, 861 (Fla. 5th DCA 1996).

Wherefore, the Defendant requests that this court enter an order dismissing Plaintiff’s Complaint against, Defendant, William D. Lane.

End of motion|

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To many the no info filed on the two charges dropped by the State of Florida came as a surprise. Many have expressed outrage as well.

Cruising the news stories and forums, you will see many ideas posted as to their belief on why the 2 charges were not filed along with the DUI Manslaughter against Billy Lane.

A few have stated that it is not uncommon for the prosecutor to drop the lessor charges and go after the higher charge. The prosecuting attorney will have more time to devote to the single charge this way. Well, maybe.

I have tried not to form any opinions on this case, basing the better part of my posts on fact and evidence. I did leave a couple of messages with the State Attorneys Office to speak with the prosecutor appointed to the criminal case against Billy Lane. No telephone call was returned.

What I did come across, however, is the witness list filed by Kepler Funk on October 23rd. with the Brevard County Clerk of Courts. Funk is the attorney of record for the defendant, Billy Lane in the criminal case of State of Florida versus William Lane. Contained in this witness list is one Erin Derrick. You will recall that Ms. Derrick was the 22 year old female passenger in the Dodge pickup that Billy Lane was driving on September 4th. Erin Derrick was injured in the crash that took the life of Gerald Morelock. Yet, very little has been published about the passenger other than her being injured and spending a few days in the hospital.

Up until today when I took possession of this document, the reason as to why the 2 charges were dropped were a question to me. I think that question has been answered.

Related: A story told of a tragedy in the making

(Melbourne, Florida) October 26, 2006
F. Jeffrey Vernis ESQ with the firm of Vernis & Bowling has been named the attorney of record for chopper builder Billy Lane in the Brevard County civil suit for the wrongful death of Gerald Morelock.  

Jeffrey Vernis filed several documents today with the Brevard County Clerks office, one of which was a Motion To Dismiss. Although Jeffrey Vernis was not yet named as the attorney for DaimlerChrysler, the web site for the firm lists DaimlerChrysler as one of the many clients of the Vernis & Bowling firm.

On October 2, the civil suit for the wrongful death of Gerald Morelock was filed by the Melbourne, Florida law firm of Nance Cacciatore and Hamilton naming William D. Lane and DaimlerChrysler as defendants. The suit was filed on behalf of Dolores J. Morelock and the estate of Gerald V. Morelock which was amended on October 6 to include punitive damages.

Gerald Morelock was killed Labor Day weekend when the 2006 custom Dodge truck that was being operated by Billy Lane struck him head-on. Witnesses of the September 4th wreck stated that Billy Lane had crossed the doubled yellow line on State Road A1A while attempting to pass 3 vehicles. The witnesses also commented that Lane continued to pass regardless of the oncoming motor scooter that was being driven by victim Gerald Morelock and that he was speeding.

Although Lane was requested to submit to blood alcohol tests several times, he refused to do so. It was not until over 45 minutes after the crash that FHP troopers read the Implied Consent and Lane was still not cooperative even with knowledge of death. FHP Troopers then told Billy Lane that because there was a death and serious injury involved that they were going to take the blood for testing. A registered nurse withdrew the blood sample and it was sent to the FDLE crime lab for testing.

September 22, 2006 the results of the BAC were returned from the crime lab to the investigating Officer. The result was 0.192% which is more than twice the legal limit of impairment for Billy Lane. The results revealed Billy Lane to be under the influence of an alcoholic beverage at the time of his traffic crash. Billy Lane turned himself in 3 days later accompanied by his attorneys and was released on 15,000.00 bond only 90 minutes later.

Billy Lane faced criminal charges of DUI Manslaughter, DUI Serious Bodily Injury and Driving while License Suspended/Revoked With Serious Injury or Death at the time of his arrest. The States Attorneys Office has only officially charged Lane with Felony DUI Manslaughter on October 19, while filing no information on the other two charges. Billy Lane is scheduled to appear before Judge Allawas on November 9 at 9:00 am at the Brevard County court in Viera, Florida on criminal charges. No date has been set for the civil suit at this time.
Gerald Morelock was a park ranger at the Sebastian Inlet State Park and was riding his 1983 Yamaha motor scooter at the time of the crash. Gerry Morelock had visited the park with his parents in his youth and it was his dream to move to the area and live when he got older. The funeral for Gerry was held at the Sebastian Inlet Park where many friends and relatives gathered to say goodbye to the 56 year old man. Gerald Morelock’s ashes were scattered to the wind with a beautiful sunset on the water at the Sebastian Inlet Park where he worked and fished.

Billy Lane is owner of the Melbourne, Florida motorcycle company Choppers Inc. and gained the public attention as a winner in the Discovery Channel’s Great Biker Build-Off and also Appeared on Monster Garage.

DaimlerChrysler is the corporation for Dodge, owners of the 2006 custom Dodge pickup that was being operated by Billy Lane on the night of the crash. The civil suit claims that DaimlerChrysler was negligent in allowing a person with a history of bad driving to operate their vehicles. Billy Lane was out on bond on the date of the crash for refusing to submit to a breathalyser when he was pulled over by the North Carolina Police for driving on the wrong side of the road and without a helmet.

Please go to Bikers Voice for comments and discussion on this post.

Technorati Tags: dui, dwi, drunk driving, billy lane, dodge, daimlerchrysler, law, case research, motorcycle news, celebrities, lawyer

With all the public eye on the Gerald Morelock tragedy having been killed by a driver who was not even supposed to be driving, it really rattles my cage to read how the last death of Biketober happened.

There is a reason that laws are in place in this world. The people that do not abide by these laws have to be punished and there are laws that provide for the terms of said punishment. As President Theodore Roosevelt said: “No man is above the law and no man is below it: nor do we ask any man’s permission when we ask him to obey it“.

If you have broken certain traffic laws, then the law provides that the punishment be a suspended or revoked driver license. The reason for this is that you have proved yourself not worthy the privilege of driving on the highways of this land. You have at one time or another shown irresponsibility to the point that it has become dangerous to you and those that share the road with you.

Now, as I read the story of how Nora Cardona was killed during the last day of Biketoberfest it grieves my heart. My heart goes out to Mr. Cardona who had his wife literally taken from his loving hand and drug 160 feet by a man that was not supposed to be driving to begin with!

The racing motorcycle was being driven by 22 year old Kreso F. Orlic of N.J., who’s license had been suspended. Just as Billy Lane had no business driving the day he hit Gerald Morelock and killed him, Mr. Orlic should not have been on his motorcycle. Orlic was drag racing with 2 other bikes when he struck Mrs. Cardona walking across the street holding her husband’s hand.

I am sure there are statistics that would show how many drivers that have suspended or revoked license have caused accidents. I would imagine that the number is probably high. I don’t have those numbers at the moment and it is not relevant to these particular cases.

The sad truth is that if these people had obied by the law and not operated a motor vehicle while their license was suspended, the victims of their crime might today still be alive.

Technorati Tags: suspended license, vehicular homicide, manslaughter

On October 11 chopper builder Billy Lane entered a written plea of not guilty of the charges he faces in Brevard County, Florida.

Billy Lane turned himself in on September 25 accompanied by his panel of 4 attorneys who have now filed a plea of not guilty on his behalf. Lane is charged with DUI Manslaughter and other charges from the wreck that happened on September 4 taking the life of Gerald Morelock.

More to come on this as it arrives

Update! Breaking News
OK. Before I post the comments that I have received in the blog, I will clear this up to the public.

As many of you know, when I report on an item, I report on fact. Since I made this post about Billy Lane making a plea of not guilty, many have wrote to me personally and made comments asking how I know and where I got this information.
As I have said in earlier post, I am studying to become a better writer. I have and still do have jobs that require investigative skills and knowledge. So for me the investigation into this case is a little easier than most would find it. Not that many could not, they just don’t.

So, why have you not been able to find anywhere else that has this story? Why is it not in the newspapers? online?
It is called an exclusive, a scoop. A news story that other reporters just have not been quite on the ball with. There have been other exclusive articles on this blog, that I posted before anyone else about this case. I have been sharing this information with others though.

In fact my biggest and most comprehensive article was on the wrongful death suit being filed that named Billy Lane and Daimlerchrysler Corporation (Dodge) as the defendants. I sent the tip to all three of the reporters that have been covering this story on Florida Today newspaper. They just called the attorney in the case, got a couple of statements and let it fly at that. What kind of got my goat, was never even a response from any of them. Not even a thank you! Consequently they are on their own.

It has been confirmed, I have a copy of the document, that Billy Lane has filed a waiver of appearance, written plea of not guilty and demand for jury trial.
This means that Billy Lane WILL NOT be in court for his first appearance scheduled for the 27th of this month. He has waived that right and entered a written plea of not guilty instead.

Technorati Tags: dui, drunk driving, trial, legal, law, billy lane, court, news, case research, dwi, motorcycles, melbourne, florida, manslaughter

In a late breaking news article on the Florida Today Site, it was just announced that Choppers Inc. owner Billy Lane was cleared of the DUI charges in North Carolina.

This will have no effect on the cases here in Florida because Mr. Lane’s license was still suspended on September 4th, the night of the fatal Crash that took the life of Gerald Morelock. Please see the Florida Today article for the complete story below.
 

Source: http://www.floridatoday.com/apps/pbcs.dll/article?AID=/20061006/NEWS01/610060334/1006

* Special note: On October 2nd a Wrongful Death suit was filed against Billy Lane and Dodge by the Mother of the victim, Gerald Morelock the victim of the Labor Day crash in Melbourne Beach. I have prepared a comprehensive report on the entire tragedy. Please read my article Wrongful death complaint cites Billy Lane acted outrageously for more information.

Technorati Tags: DUI, drunk driving, dwi, billy lane, north carolina

Billy Lane appeared in court today at 2 p.m. at the Rowan County court house in North Carolina to face charges of DUI.
It was reported that Billy stood before the court clean shaved, in a designer suit and hair concealed inside the suit. One of the issues that have come up in the North Carolina case does strongly affect the case here in Melbourne, Florida. Billy Lane had been released on a $1,000.00 bond on the North Carolina DUI arrest in June of this year. Part of the provisions of the North Carolina bond was that Mr. Lane not drink and drive! So, we are awaiting the news to see if North Carolina will revoke the bond for breach because of the September 4th DUI/Manslaughter charges.

Update: It needs to be noted that Billy Lane was aware if the fact that he was driving on a suspended license. The fact remains that he had no license in his possession. The North Carolina Highway Patrol had the right by law to take Mr. Lanes Florida drivers license from him for his refusal to submit to a sobriety test. The patrolman exercised that right on the night of Billy Lane’s DUI arrest. Currently, Billy Lanes driver license is in the possession and control of the North Carolina District Courts. This points to the fact, again, that Billy Lane had no right to be driving, period, on the night that he caused the wreck that took the life of Gerald Morelock.

Technorati Tags: billy lane, north carolina, DUI, drunk driving, suspended license

Only days before Billy Lane is scheduled to appear in a North Carolina court room to answer to charges of DUI, Dolores Morelock, mother of Gerald Morelock has filed a Auto Negligence suit with the Brevard County Clerk of Courts.

The suit was filed on October 2nd and names William D. Lane and the Daimlerchrysler Corporation as defendants for auto negligence stemming from the fatal crash that happened on September 4th involving Choppers Inc. Owner, Billy Lane. Gerald Morelock, 56, of Melbourne Beach was pronounced dead at the scene. Billy Lane faces charges of DUI/Manslaughter in the death of Gerald Morelock.

The lawsuit was filed by Attorney Sammy S. Cacciatore Jr. of the Melbourne based law firm of Nance Cacciatore.

The auto negligence suit against Billy Lane and Dodge can be seen here

Technorati Tags: auto negligence, dodge, daimlerchrysler, court, billy lane, wrongful death, melbourne, florida, news, dui

A first appearance date has been set for Melbourne chopper builder, Billy Lane.

William “Billy” Lane is scheduled to make his first appearance in front of Judge Majeeb on October 27, 2006 at 9:00 a.m. at the Moore Justice Center in Viera, Florida.

Billy Lane has been charged with DUI Manslaughter, DUI Serious Bodily Injury and Driving while License Suspended/Revoked With Serious Injury or Death stemming from a fatal crash on September 4th.

The victim, Gerald Morelock,56 of Melbourne Beach, Florida was killed instantly when the Dodge truck that Mr. Lane was driving struck him head-on while riding a 1983 Yamaha Motor Scooter. Witnesses have reported that they saw the 2006 black Dodge pickup cross over the double yellow lines southbound on Highway A1A in an attempt to pass two vehicles. Florida Highway Patrol troopers suspected that the collision was alcohol related on the night of September 4th, but had to wait until blood test came back from the Florida Department of Law Enforcement Crime Lab before filing charges. Emergency paramedics have stated that they smelled alcohol coming from Lane as well.

Billy Lane turned himself in to the FHP on September 25th accompanied by his attorneys and was released 90 minutes later on a $15,000.00 bond. Mr. Lane is scheduled to appear in North Carolina on October 5th on alcohol related charges only weeks before his scheduled first appearance here in Florida. North Carolina Police reported Billy Lane was pulled over for driving on the wrong side of the highway, not wearing a helmet and refusing to submit to a BAC test. FHP Troopers also stated that Mr. Lane had refused to take the test on the night of the September 4th wreck. Troopers later took the blood test at the hospital where Billy Lane was treated and released for injury.

Related entries

Wrongful death complaint cites Billy Lane acted outrageously

Billy Lane pleads not guilty to DUI Manslaughter charges

Technorati Tags: DUI, billy lane, case research, court, florida, melbourne, motorcycles, news