Preview
11/6/2018 2:01 PM
Velva L. Price
District Clerk
Travis County
CAUSE NO. D-1-GN-18-006719
______________ D-1-GN-18-006719
Jessica A. Limon
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SANDRA DEE JONES, § IN THE DISTRICT COURT
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Plaintiff, §
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v. § _____ JUDICIAL DISTRICT
261ST
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KEITH JAMES COTE, §
§
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Defendant. § TRAVIS COUNTY, TEXAS
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PLAINTIFF’S ORIGINAL PETITION
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TO THE HONORABLE JUDGE OF SAID COURT:
COMES NOW, Plaintiff Sandra Dee Jones
ct(“Plaintiff” or “SanDee”) and files this
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Original Petition complaining of Keith James Cote (“Defendant” or “Cote”), and for cause of
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action respectfully shows the Court the following:
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I.
DISCOVERY CONTROL PLAN
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1. Discovery is intended to be conducted under Level 3 of Texas Rule of Civil
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Procedure 190.
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II.
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STATEMENT OF MONETARY RELIEF SOUGHT
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2. Plaintiff seeks monetary relief over $1,000,000 and all other relief to which the
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Plaintiff is entitled.
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III.
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PARTIES
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3. Plaintiff Sandra Dee Jones is an individual residing in Travis County, Texas.
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4. Defendant Keith James Cote was, until his death in September of 2018, an
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individual residing in Travis County, Texas. To date, no proceeding has been instituted to
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administer Cote’s estate.
IV.
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JURISDICTION AND VENUE
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5. This Court has the necessary personal and subject matter jurisdiction in that
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the amount in controversy exceeds the minimum jurisdictional requirement of this Court, and
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Plaintiff is a Texas resident.
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6. Venue is proper in Travis County since all or a substantial part of the causes of
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action occurred in this county.
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V.
FACTUAL BACKGROUND
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7. This is a lawsuit for economic and personal injuries that the defendant Keith
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Cote caused plaintiff SanDee Jones. Over the course of more than a decade, through repeated
and continuing verbal abuse, physical abuse, threats, intimidation, and coercion, Cote caused
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SanDee substantial economic loss and severe emotional and psychological pain and
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suffering. SanDee sues for intentional infliction of emotional distress, assault, breach of
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contract, and quantum meruit.
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8. SanDee Jones met Keith Cote in 2002 in Austin, Texas. For a time, they were
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in a consensual girlfriend / boyfriend relationship. In 2002, SanDee moved from Austin to
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live with Cote in Houston. During their co-habitation, Cote’s conduct became more and more
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volatile, and he began to abuse SanDee, both verbally and physically. By way of example, in
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2005, Cote broke SanDee’s ribs. In 2006, Cote tried to strangle SanDee, but she was able
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break free. Cote then threatened her that he would cut her up into little pieces and spread her
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around the back yard. Over time, Cote’s abusive and assaultive behavior worsened.
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9. In 2006, SanDee left Cote, moved back to Austin, and started a business. Cote
attempted to reconcile with SanDee.
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10. In 2010, SanDee agreed to move back in with Cote into a house that Cote
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owned on Dapple Grey Lane in Austin, Texas. As part of their arrangement, Cote agreed to
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deed the house to SanDee. SanDee paid off the loan on the house and also paid for and
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performed upgrades around the house. Cote knew that SanDee was willing to provide the
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money, materials, and services because Cote had agreed to deed the house to SanDee.
11. Ultimately, the arrangement did not
ctwork. SanDee moved out of the Austin
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residence. Cote then began hounding SanDee about the house stating that he wanted her to
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deed the house back. He harassed her relentlessly. He would show up at her place of business
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and disrupt her customers and destroy her property. As result of Cote’s extreme and
outrageous conduct, ultimately SanDee came to the conclusion that the only way she could
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survive was to break all contact with Cote. By his threats and intimidation, Cote coerced
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SanDee to deed the property back to Cote to secure this clean break. Cote never reimbursed
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SanDee for paying off the home loan or for the improvements SanDee had provided to the
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house.
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12. In 2012, SanDee broke with Cote for good and, except for a brief stint in 2013
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when she tried to help rehabilitate Cote after an accident that left Cote partially paralyzed,
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SanDee tried to cut Cote completely out of her life. Unfortunately, SanDee’s attempts to
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escape Cote were unsuccessful. Cote continued to threaten and abuse SanDee from 2012
until his death in September of 2018.
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13. Cote would not accept the breakup and constantly harassed SanDee with
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contact that alternated between attempts at reconciliation and threats that he would hurt or
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kill her. Cote’s threats and abuse created severe anxiety for SanDee, and for many years she
has lived in constant fear for her life.
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14. Cote’s threats and harassment were continuous from 2012 until his
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incarceration in October of 2017. Cote would leave notes and boxes on SanDee’s doorstep
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and at her place of work. Cote’s continuous unwanted contact left SanDee convinced that she
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would never feel safe until Cote was no longer walking on Earth.
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15. By way of example, in early 2017, Cote left a box on SanDee’s doorstep.
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Fearing that the box might contain something dangerous, like a bomb, SanDee did not open
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it for several days. When she ultimately did open it, the box contained photos, notes and
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cards attempting to convince SanDee to reconcile. These items did not make SanDee feel
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safer, rather they made her feel more fearful of Cote because he clearly would not accept that
their relationship was over. When SanDee didn’t respond to Cote’s overture, Cote again
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contacted her and told her that “This isn’t over, and this isn’t going to go well for you.” As a
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result of Cote’s behavior, SanDee lived in constant fear for her life. She avoided going out,
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and when she did she would try to disguise her appearance.
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16. In October of 2017, Cote attempted to hire an ex-marine, Joey Seas, to kill
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SanDee. As Cote told Joey, SanDee deserved to die because she was dating a black man.
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Cote said that he wanted kill SanDee himself, but he needed help because he was physically
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incapable of pulling it off.
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17. The “hitman” Cote attempted to hire went to the police, and Travis County
authorities executed a sting operation over the course of several weeks. Sergeant Darrell
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Gibson led the investigation. On multiple occasions Cote was recorded on wire-tap offering
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to pay $10,000 to have the Joey kill SanDee, and Cote offered a $15,000 bonus if Joey could
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arrange it so that Cote could watch.
18. Cote was arrested on October 23, 2017. The incident received substantial
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media coverage, such as this story in the Austin American Statesman.
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19. Cote remained in prison until September 6, 2018, when he posted a $1,000,000
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bond and was released. On information and belief, Cote’s ex-wife Linda Cote assisted him in
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posting bond. On information and belief, Linda Cote had received an advanced warning that
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Keith Cote intended to take his own life and would leave all of his possessions to Linda Cote.
On information and belief, Linda Cote did not
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immediately contact the authorities to advise
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them of Keith Cote’s intentions and waited until after Cote’s suicide to inform the
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authorities.
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20. On or around September 18, 2018, Cote committed suicide by cutting his
throat.
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21. As a result of Cote’s continuous threats and abuse, quite understandably,
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SanDee’s peace of mind was destroyed, and she suffers from profound post-traumatic stress
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disorder. SanDee’s mental distress substantially disrupted her life both before and after she
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learned of the attempted hit that Cote tried to place on her life.
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22. After she learned of the attempted hit, SanDee was forced to close her
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business, move to a new house, and, ultimately, go into hiding. Even after Cote was arrested
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and incarcerated, SanDee lived in constant fear that Cote would orchestrate from jail a plot to
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take her life. SanDee was placed under FBI-surveillance for her own protection. She stopped
driving her car and feared to go out into public without a disguise.
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23. Cote’s extreme and outrageous conduct and threats of bodily injury caused
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SanDee massive economic, emotional, and psychological harm, for which she seeks redress.
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VI.
CAUSES OF ACTION
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A. Intentional Infliction of Emotional Distress
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24. Cote is liable to SanDee for intentional infliction of emotional distress. Cote
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acted intentionally. Cote’s conduct was extreme and outrageous, and his conduct proximately
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caused SanDee’s substantial economic damages and severe emotional distress. Cote inflicted
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severe emotional distress upon SanDee.
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B. Assault by Threat of Bodily Injury
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25. Cote is liable to SanDee for assault by offensive physical contact and by threat
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of bodily injury. On numerous occasions, in a variety of ways, Cote intentionally and
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knowingly battered SanDee and threatened her with imminent bodily injury. Cote inflicted
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bodily harm on SanDee. When Cote threatened her, SanDee took Cote’s threats seriously,
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and Cote’s threats caused SanDee severe economic and psychological harm.
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C. Breach of Contract
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26. Cote is liable to SanDee for breach of contract. Cote agreed to deed his Austin
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home to SanDee. In reliance on Cote’s promise, SanDee accepted the deed and then invested
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tens of thousands of dollars on the property. Through threats and intimidation, ultimately,
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Cote coerced SanDee to turn the deed to the property back over to Cote. But Cote’s
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agreement, which SanDee relied on to her detriment, should be enforced.
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D. Quantum Meruit
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27. In the alternative, Cote is liable to SanDee for quantum meruit. SanDee
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provided Cote with tens of thousands of dollars to pay off the note on his Austin house and to
repair and upgrade the house. Cote accepted SanDee’s contributions, and Cote knew that
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SanDee expected to receive the deed to the house in return.
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VII.
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DAMAGES
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28. SanDee seeks all damages recoverable under Texas law. Without limitation,
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SanDee seeks actual damages for mental anguish, loss of society, medical expenses, lost
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earning capacity, specific performance, reasonable value, exemplary damages, interest, court
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costs, and attorney’s fees.
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29. Plaintiff respectfully prays that she have and recover judgment from
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Defendant for the damages stated herein, with all costs of court, pre-judgment interest at the
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maximum legal rate, post-judgment interest at the maximum legal rate, and all other relief,
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both general and specific, at law or in equity, to which Plaintiff may show herself justly
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entitled.
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Respectfully submitted,
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SCOTT DOUGLASS & MCCONNICO LLP
303 Colorado Street, Suite 2400
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Austin, Texas 78701
(512) 495-6300 Phone
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(512) 474-6399 Fax
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State Bar No. 00788694
swingard@scottdoug.com
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Paige Amstutz
State Bar No. 00796136
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pamstutz@scottdoug.com
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ATTORNEYS FOR PLAINTIFF SANDRA DEE
JONES
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4829-5679-2441 8
Preview
11/6/2018 2:01 PM Velva L. Price District Clerk Travis County CAUSE NO. D-1-GN-18-006719 ______________ D-1-GN-18-006719 Jessica A. Limon e SANDRA DEE JONES, § IN THE DISTRICT COURT ic § Pr Plaintiff, § § v. § _____ JUDICIAL DISTRICT 261ST L. § a § lv KEITH JAMES COTE, § § Ve Defendant. § TRAVIS COUNTY, TEXAS k er PLAINTIFF’S ORIGINAL PETITION Cl TO THE HONORABLE JUDGE OF SAID COURT: COMES NOW, Plaintiff Sandra Dee Jones ct(“Plaintiff” or “SanDee”) and files this tri Original Petition complaining of Keith James Cote (“Defendant” or “Cote”), and for cause of D is action respectfully shows the Court the following: . Co I. DISCOVERY CONTROL PLAN is 1. Discovery is intended to be conducted under Level 3 of Texas Rule of Civil av Procedure 190. Tr II. y STATEMENT OF MONETARY RELIEF SOUGHT op 2. Plaintiff seeks monetary relief over $1,000,000 and all other relief to which the c Plaintiff is entitled. l ia III. fic PARTIES of 3. Plaintiff Sandra Dee Jones is an individual residing in Travis County, Texas. Un 4829-5679-2441 4. Defendant Keith James Cote was, until his death in September of 2018, an e individual residing in Travis County, Texas. To date, no proceeding has been instituted to ic Pr administer Cote’s estate. IV. L. JURISDICTION AND VENUE a lv 5. This Court has the necessary personal and subject matter jurisdiction in that Ve the amount in controversy exceeds the minimum jurisdictional requirement of this Court, and k Plaintiff is a Texas resident. er 6. Venue is proper in Travis County since all or a substantial part of the causes of Cl action occurred in this county. ct tri V. FACTUAL BACKGROUND D is 7. This is a lawsuit for economic and personal injuries that the defendant Keith . Co Cote caused plaintiff SanDee Jones. Over the course of more than a decade, through repeated and continuing verbal abuse, physical abuse, threats, intimidation, and coercion, Cote caused is av SanDee substantial economic loss and severe emotional and psychological pain and Tr suffering. SanDee sues for intentional infliction of emotional distress, assault, breach of y contract, and quantum meruit. op 8. SanDee Jones met Keith Cote in 2002 in Austin, Texas. For a time, they were c in a consensual girlfriend / boyfriend relationship. In 2002, SanDee moved from Austin to l ia live with Cote in Houston. During their co-habitation, Cote’s conduct became more and more fic of volatile, and he began to abuse SanDee, both verbally and physically. By way of example, in Un 2005, Cote broke SanDee’s ribs. In 2006, Cote tried to strangle SanDee, but she was able 4829-5679-2441 2 break free. Cote then threatened her that he would cut her up into little pieces and spread her e around the back yard. Over time, Cote’s abusive and assaultive behavior worsened. ic Pr 9. In 2006, SanDee left Cote, moved back to Austin, and started a business. Cote attempted to reconcile with SanDee. L. a 10. In 2010, SanDee agreed to move back in with Cote into a house that Cote lv owned on Dapple Grey Lane in Austin, Texas. As part of their arrangement, Cote agreed to Ve deed the house to SanDee. SanDee paid off the loan on the house and also paid for and k er performed upgrades around the house. Cote knew that SanDee was willing to provide the Cl money, materials, and services because Cote had agreed to deed the house to SanDee. 11. Ultimately, the arrangement did not ctwork. SanDee moved out of the Austin tri residence. Cote then began hounding SanDee about the house stating that he wanted her to D is deed the house back. He harassed her relentlessly. He would show up at her place of business . Co and disrupt her customers and destroy her property. As result of Cote’s extreme and outrageous conduct, ultimately SanDee came to the conclusion that the only way she could is av survive was to break all contact with Cote. By his threats and intimidation, Cote coerced Tr SanDee to deed the property back to Cote to secure this clean break. Cote never reimbursed y SanDee for paying off the home loan or for the improvements SanDee had provided to the op house. c 12. In 2012, SanDee broke with Cote for good and, except for a brief stint in 2013 l ia when she tried to help rehabilitate Cote after an accident that left Cote partially paralyzed, fic of SanDee tried to cut Cote completely out of her life. Unfortunately, SanDee’s attempts to Un escape Cote were unsuccessful. Cote continued to threaten and abuse SanDee from 2012 until his death in September of 2018. 4829-5679-2441 3 13. Cote would not accept the breakup and constantly harassed SanDee with e contact that alternated between attempts at reconciliation and threats that he would hurt or ic Pr kill her. Cote’s threats and abuse created severe anxiety for SanDee, and for many years she has lived in constant fear for her life. L. a 14. Cote’s threats and harassment were continuous from 2012 until his lv incarceration in October of 2017. Cote would leave notes and boxes on SanDee’s doorstep Ve and at her place of work. Cote’s continuous unwanted contact left SanDee convinced that she k er would never feel safe until Cote was no longer walking on Earth. Cl 15. By way of example, in early 2017, Cote left a box on SanDee’s doorstep. ct Fearing that the box might contain something dangerous, like a bomb, SanDee did not open tri it for several days. When she ultimately did open it, the box contained photos, notes and D is cards attempting to convince SanDee to reconcile. These items did not make SanDee feel . Co safer, rather they made her feel more fearful of Cote because he clearly would not accept that their relationship was over. When SanDee didn’t respond to Cote’s overture, Cote again is av contacted her and told her that “This isn’t over, and this isn’t going to go well for you.” As a Tr result of Cote’s behavior, SanDee lived in constant fear for her life. She avoided going out, y and when she did she would try to disguise her appearance. op 16. In October of 2017, Cote attempted to hire an ex-marine, Joey Seas, to kill c SanDee. As Cote told Joey, SanDee deserved to die because she was dating a black man. l ia Cote said that he wanted kill SanDee himself, but he needed help because he was physically fic of incapable of pulling it off. Un 17. The “hitman” Cote attempted to hire went to the police, and Travis County authorities executed a sting operation over the course of several weeks. Sergeant Darrell 4829-5679-2441 4 Gibson led the investigation. On multiple occasions Cote was recorded on wire-tap offering e to pay $10,000 to have the Joey kill SanDee, and Cote offered a $15,000 bonus if Joey could ic Pr arrange it so that Cote could watch. 18. Cote was arrested on October 23, 2017. The incident received substantial L. a media coverage, such as this story in the Austin American Statesman. lv 19. Cote remained in prison until September 6, 2018, when he posted a $1,000,000 Ve bond and was released. On information and belief, Cote’s ex-wife Linda Cote assisted him in k er posting bond. On information and belief, Linda Cote had received an advanced warning that Cl Keith Cote intended to take his own life and would leave all of his possessions to Linda Cote. On information and belief, Linda Cote did not ct immediately contact the authorities to advise tri them of Keith Cote’s intentions and waited until after Cote’s suicide to inform the D is authorities. . Co 20. On or around September 18, 2018, Cote committed suicide by cutting his throat. is av 21. As a result of Cote’s continuous threats and abuse, quite understandably, Tr SanDee’s peace of mind was destroyed, and she suffers from profound post-traumatic stress y disorder. SanDee’s mental distress substantially disrupted her life both before and after she op learned of the attempted hit that Cote tried to place on her life. c 22. After she learned of the attempted hit, SanDee was forced to close her l ia business, move to a new house, and, ultimately, go into hiding. Even after Cote was arrested fic of and incarcerated, SanDee lived in constant fear that Cote would orchestrate from jail a plot to Un take her life. SanDee was placed under FBI-surveillance for her own protection. She stopped driving her car and feared to go out into public without a disguise. 4829-5679-2441 5 23. Cote’s extreme and outrageous conduct and threats of bodily injury caused e SanDee massive economic, emotional, and psychological harm, for which she seeks redress. ic Pr VI. CAUSES OF ACTION L. A. Intentional Infliction of Emotional Distress a lv 24. Cote is liable to SanDee for intentional infliction of emotional distress. Cote Ve acted intentionally. Cote’s conduct was extreme and outrageous, and his conduct proximately k caused SanDee’s substantial economic damages and severe emotional distress. Cote inflicted er severe emotional distress upon SanDee. Cl B. Assault by Threat of Bodily Injury ct tri 25. Cote is liable to SanDee for assault by offensive physical contact and by threat is of bodily injury. On numerous occasions, in a variety of ways, Cote intentionally and D knowingly battered SanDee and threatened her with imminent bodily injury. Cote inflicted . Co bodily harm on SanDee. When Cote threatened her, SanDee took Cote’s threats seriously, is and Cote’s threats caused SanDee severe economic and psychological harm. av C. Breach of Contract Tr 26. Cote is liable to SanDee for breach of contract. Cote agreed to deed his Austin y op home to SanDee. In reliance on Cote’s promise, SanDee accepted the deed and then invested c tens of thousands of dollars on the property. Through threats and intimidation, ultimately, l ia Cote coerced SanDee to turn the deed to the property back over to Cote. But Cote’s fic agreement, which SanDee relied on to her detriment, should be enforced. of Un 4829-5679-2441 6 D. Quantum Meruit e 27. In the alternative, Cote is liable to SanDee for quantum meruit. SanDee ic Pr provided Cote with tens of thousands of dollars to pay off the note on his Austin house and to repair and upgrade the house. Cote accepted SanDee’s contributions, and Cote knew that L. a SanDee expected to receive the deed to the house in return. lv VII. Ve DAMAGES k 28. SanDee seeks all damages recoverable under Texas law. Without limitation, er SanDee seeks actual damages for mental anguish, loss of society, medical expenses, lost Cl earning capacity, specific performance, reasonable value, exemplary damages, interest, court ct tri costs, and attorney’s fees. is 29. Plaintiff respectfully prays that she have and recover judgment from D Defendant for the damages stated herein, with all costs of court, pre-judgment interest at the . Co maximum legal rate, post-judgment interest at the maximum legal rate, and all other relief, is both general and specific, at law or in equity, to which Plaintiff may show herself justly av entitled. Tr y op c l ia fic of Un 4829-5679-2441 7 Respectfully submitted, e ic SCOTT DOUGLASS & MCCONNICO LLP 303 Colorado Street, Suite 2400 Pr Austin, Texas 78701 (512) 495-6300 Phone L. (512) 474-6399 Fax a By~~~ lv Ve State Bar No. 00788694 swingard@scottdoug.com k er Paige Amstutz State Bar No. 00796136 Cl pamstutz@scottdoug.com ct ATTORNEYS FOR PLAINTIFF SANDRA DEE JONES tri D is . Co is av Tr y op c l ia fic of Un 4829-5679-2441 8