Little-known Utah law allows citizens to sue drug dealers - KUTV 2News

(KUTV) — A Utah law on the books for decades gives families the chance to find justice for a loved ones harmed by illegal drugs.

Jim Conforti is using this law to hold drug dealers accountable after the death of his wife, Lindsey.

"She was a sweetheart, very bubbly personality," Conforti said of his wife.

She started a legal pain regimen in 2013 after hurting her neck in an accident. At some point, she slipped off her routine.

"From there, I think the problem just compounded," Conforti said. "COVID certainly didn't help things."

Lindsey Conforti's final day alive was March 26.

That day, Conforti said Lindsey did a few errands with her stepson. They picked up the mail from a UPS box, which Conforti said contained a letter he believes held the pills that killed her.

"I had no idea any of this was going on," he said. "I knew on the Friday she died — March 26th — I knew my wife, my partner of nine years and eight days, was gone."

Conforti suspected Lindsey was getting pills from someone other than her doctor. It was confirmed when a toxicology report showed fentanyl in her system.

"I said to myself, 'Someone's got to do something.' And I realized I'm someone; I've got to do something," Conforti said.

He spent weeks analyzing 17,000 of Lindsey's text and Venmo records, looking for wrongful death evidence. That's when he stumbled upon the Utah Drug Dealer's Liability Act, which became law in the 1990s.

It essentially allows a citizen to file a civil suit against a drug dealer.

"I realized that this law was written for this exact situation," Conforti said.

Conforti, who is not an attorney but is representing himself, filed suit against eight defendants — some of them close friends.

"The kinds of people you would have over to your house for a BBQ, you would go over to their house for a BBQ," Conforti said.

The Utah court system does not keep track of how many times this law has been used. The Addicted Utah team has heard about one other case but could not independently confirm it.

"That's why people don't typically file these lawsuits — there just isn't any pot of gold at the end of the rainbow," said Greg Skordas, an attorney who is not involved in the case Conforti is working on.

Skordas said it is very difficult to prove where the drugs were purchased, who sold them, and that the particular drugs caused harm.

"You could perhaps tie it to the individual dealer, but that's a hard hurdle to clear," Skordas said.

Proof beyond a reasonable doubt is the benchmark for criminal prosecution. It's much lower for civil liability, but then the question becomes: how many legal assets do drug dealers really have?

Skordas said he believes they don't have many.

"Even though it's sometimes just a victory you'll never collect on, I do think that sometimes victims get some satisfaction having the ability to use the person that caused the harm to them or their family," he said.

Which is most of what Conforti is after.

"The money isn't the issue; it's actually finding people responsible," Conforti said.

Conforit said 16 other states have a version of this law.

"There are so many cases where for whatever reason, there is no justice at the criminal level for these families and it's painful, and it doesn't end," he said.

In at least one state, Tennessee, the state's supreme court used the act to rule that certain drug companies could be sued if there is evidence those companies "knowingly facilitated the distribution of opioids in the illegal drug market."

Skordas said it's very hard to prove causation of death or harm in these cases.

"That's another hurdle that's just going to be very hard to overcome," he said.

Many states, Utah included, have been successful going after drug makers for harm caused by the opioid epidemic. But Skordas said in those instances, states have enough resources to make a good case.

"Individuals rarely can take on a case like that," Skordas said.

As Conforti waits for his case to move forward, he has started a Facebook group to advocate for and educate people about the process he's going through and to help anyone who might be in a similar situation.

Resources for substance abuse can be found here.

source: https://kutv.com/news/addicted-utah/little-known-utah-law-allows-citizens-to-sue-drug-dealers

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