William Kopeny, an attorney working for Cavallo, said his client's behavior was protected under the doctrine of "litigation privilege," which holds that a lawyer's actions in connection with a court case cannot form the basis of a lawsuit.
"It's a very wide-ranging privilege," Kopeny said.
The criminal convictions of Haidl, Nachreiner and Spann provide a built-in advantage for Jane Doe in the civil arena, at least in the case against them. In civil court, plaintiffs must prove their case by a "preponderance of the evidence," a much lighter burden than the "beyond a reasonable doubt" standard already met in the criminal case.
