Jury's Verdict Overturned In Rolland Comstock Wrongful Death Lawsuit:

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Rolland Comstock in his beloved home library

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The judge who heard the wrongful death lawsuit of Springfield attorney Rolland Comstock has thrown out the jury's verdict saying it was "so inconsistent as to be self-destructive."

The jury had awarded Faith Stocker, and her siblings, $125,00.00 citing "aggravating circumstances" for the July 2007 death of her adopted father Rolland Comstock.  Stocker brought the case against her biological mother Alberta Comstock.  The jury did not award Stocker any punitive (punishment) damages.

Alberta Comstock in June during wrongful death trial (courtesy Springfield News-Leader)

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In a memorandum accompanying his decision, Cordonnier cited case law barring punitive awards when no actual damages are assessed and pointed in particular to an opinion filed this month in the Western District Court of Appeals “reconfirm[ing] Missouri’s adherence to (that) general rule.”



Comstock's Greene County mansion



The Comstock's were divorced in 2005 after thirty eight years of marriage and were involved in a bitter dispute over the sale of Comstock House, the mansion that sits close to McDaniel Lake that they both dearly loved.
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Comstock was found dead on the floor here.  One of the gunshots went into the wall

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When Comstock was found shot to death on the dining room floor of the mansion Rolland Comstock's estate paid Alberta Comstock $250,000 for her share of the house.  Alberta Comstock and her son, Michael, have been named persons of interest in Rolland Comstock's death - although no one has been criminally charged for his murder.

In his ruling, Judge Coronnier also declined the defenses request for a new trial.