Curtis Hill’s accusers drop civil case, say apology from him unlikely
INDIANAPOLIS (WISH) — The attorney for the four women accusing former Indiana Attorney General Curtis Hill of battery in 2018 said Monday that they were just looking for an apology.
Hill is accused of groping the women at a party. He has not apologized or taken accountability for his actions.
The women were seeking judgment in a civil trial set to commence this week but decided to drop the case over the weekend. Their lawyer said this decision came after they decided it was unlikely Hill would ever apologize.
The attorney for the victims, Hannah Kaufman Joseph, said the women were not looking for monetary compensation and only wanted an apology and change but a court can not mandate an apology.
The women testified in that Supreme Court trial after the Indiana Disciplinary Commission brought forward complaints about the inappropriate touching and his response as the attorney general.
The Indiana Supreme Court found Hill committed acts of misdemeanor battery in groping the women and violated the Indiana professional conduct rules in a disciplinary commission trial.
Indiana Disciplinary Commission handles all complaints and allegations against lawyers in the state.
Joseph said Hill used his official platform against the women after they came forward.
“He was relentless in his attacks on them. Buying Facebook ads under the Indiana Attorney General Facebook page attacking our clients,” Joesph said. “And the Indiana Supreme Court found that he was not truthful in his actions and he had a higher standard of conduct that he was expected to follow as a statewide constitutional officer.”
Joseph said the women already went through a trial in front of the Supreme Court but the trial court would not recognize that judgment.
She said her team would instead have to relitigate the case for a civil judgment forcing the women to re-testify in a second trial.
“The judgment stated that Curtis Hill had battered the four women,” Joesph said. “So there were legal findings of fact in conclusions of law that he had battered these four women but when they sought to enforce that judgment against him in the civil case the trial court refused to recognize the Supreme Court’s judgment.”
Joseph said her legal team would be barred from painting the full picture in the civil trial.
“[The civil trial court] said we couldn’t even call, reference Curtis Hill as the former Attorney General during the trial.”
Joseph said this is a difficult case to understand.
It has been dissected in many public forums forcing the victims to relive the trauma on multiple occasions.
The victims were ready to put this behind them after all of that.
“From the beginning, they were seeking an apology and truly if an apology had been given in 2018 this would have never gone this long,” Joesph said.
Curtis Hill issued a statement after learning the case was dropped saying in part, “The case against me was dismissed with prejudice by each of the plaintiffs, thus ending this odyssey of unfounded allegations that have dogged me for nearly seven years and have served as the fuel for political and personal attacks against me.”
Statement
“(Elkhart, IN) Yesterday, Sunday afternoon, at approximately 3:00 PM, my lawyer was notified by
counsel for the plaintiffs that they were no longer proceeding to trial and in fact, dismissing their
civil complaint against me. We agreed that the case had no merit and should be dismissed.
There was no financial settlement. There were no conditions for dismissal. The case against me
was dismissed with prejudice by each of the plaintiffs, thus ending this odyssey of unfounded
allegations that have dogged me for nearly seven years and have served as the fuel for political
and personal attacks against me.“First, let me say that God is faithful, and I thank my Lord and Savior, Jesus Christ, and the Holy
Spirit for seeing me through these perilous l times.“I want to thank my wife, Teresa, and our children for their unflinching support and unconditional
love throughout this process, and I thank my many friends and even strangers who have prayed
for me and prayed for a righteous result to this litigation.“I thank my lawyer in this case, Paul Mullin of Lewis and Wilkins LLP, and my attorney, Geoff
Giorgi, who handled the federal litigation that was dismissed by the court years ago.
Ever since these false allegations were first leaked to the press, we have been determined to
make our case to a fair and impartial jury, confident in the truth and certain that justice would
prevail.“Finally, after several years of needless delay by the plaintiffs, a jury was ready to hear the case,
and the plaintiffs folded. The plaintiffs’ action in dropping this lawsuit at the last minute is a
further testament to the strength and merit of our case.“From this ordeal, I have gained wisdom from God and remain committed to fighting for truth and
justice.”Curtis Hill, Dec. 9, 2024