The latest lawsuit filed in relation to Eric Richins’ death raises allegations new and old against his wife Kouri, who is accused of poisoning him then writing a children’s book about grieving his death.
Although Eric’s family claims to be entitled to over $13 million, the complaint filed Tuesday leaves room for plenty more damages to be determined at trial.
The complaint includes new allegations about what happened after Eric’s death. His family claims Kouri took the money from two retirement accounts set up for Eric by his mother and grandmother, totalling $55,000.
The family also says Kouri should not have taken other property belonging to Eric’s estate after his death. That includes the contents of his safe, which they now say was at least $200,000, and $25,000 cash on Eric’s person when he died.
The complaint details one instance claiming Kouri may have lied to the Utah Department of Motor Vehicles to take ownership of Eric’s Can-Am ATV.
She allegedly told the DMV it was a gift from Eric, that his estate didn’t have a personal representative and that his estate didn’t exceed $100,000 in value. Eric’s family says those statements weren’t true.
In fact, they claim Eric was earning up to $1 million a year in his masonry business in the latter years of his life.
Some of the claims build on evidence brought against Kouri in criminal court, where she stands accused of murder and drug charges.
Those include damages for what prosecutors called stolen cash, checks, credit card funds and an unlawful loan obtained without Eric’s knowledge.
But whether Kouri is convicted of murder doesn’t matter for the family’s lawsuit, which is a civil case. It only accuses Kouri of unlawful activities and causing a wrongful death, which carry a lighter burden of proof than a murder charge.
The other pending civil cases focus narrowly on Eric’s property and estate. They are on pause until the murder case is resolved.
The latest lawsuit asks for millions more in damages than the others, factoring in things like interest and penalties for allegedly stolen tax money.
It is not clear if Kouri would be able to pay the damages, but Eric’s family added a claim which could change that. They say Kouri pierced the corporate veil by depositing stolen money in Kouri Richins Realty, of which she’s the only employee.
If the court agrees that Kouri and her company are essentially one and the same, then Eric’s family can go after Kouri Richins Realty’s finances on top of whatever money Kouri herself has.
The lawsuit also says Eric’s family is entitled to an audit of all of Kouri’s professional and financial activities to identify improper or unlawful transactions.
Eric’s family wants her to pay for the cost of such an audit, and costs associated with the lawsuit more generally, including attorney’s fees.
Lastly, the family wants the court to permanently prevent Kouri from promoting and disseminating her book “Are You With Me?” and from using Eric’s image and likeness to do so. They want all the revenue she received from its sales.
Like the other cases surrounding Eric Richins’ death, this lawsuit will be heard by Judge Richard Mrazik in Third District Court.
