WILKES-BARRE — His freedom already squandered for running down and killing a jogger last year, Michael Scavone could now lose what’s left of his assets.
Luzerne County Judge Thomas F. Burke Jr. issued an order Monday, forcing Scavone to turn over financial records as Paula Jones’ husband pursues punitive damages in the wake of his 31-year-old wife’s death.
Jones, of Factoryville, was killed as she jogged along Lakeside Drive on June 7, 2015.
Burke’s order allows Brian Jones’ attorneys to serve Scavone with dozens of questions related to his assets, including his bank account, real estate and business records. But it remains to be seen what, if any, assets Scavone has to give up if a jury awards damages.
Scavone was ordered to pay $15,763 in total restitution as part of a plea agreement struck with prosecutors. The 51-year-old pleaded guilty to homicide by vehicle while under the influence and related charges May 27 and was immediately sentenced to seven to 16 years in state prison.
The civil case, meanwhile, continues to play out as Scavone remains behind bars.
Brian Jones filed the 20-page civil suit in August, alleging wrongful death and seeking damages against Scavone, as well as American Legion Post 672 in Dallas and several defendants associated with the Grotto Pizza bar and restaurant in Harveys Lake — two locations at which Scavone was allegedly before the crash.
A repeat DUI offender who allegedly told investigators he spent the day drinking beer and Yukon Jack, Scavone fled the crash scene and was later found sleeping at a Harveys Lake home he shared with his mother, prosecutors said. Analysis of his blood indicated he had a blood-alcohol level of .214 some two hours after the crash.
In a response to the October motion to compel Scavone’s financial records, his attorneys had argued “the mere fact that a person becomes intoxicated and gets into his car to drive with the result that he is involved in an accident injured someone is not, in and of itself, sufficient to establish a claim for punitive damages.”
“No court has ever ruled that,” David E. Heisler argues, noting Brian Jones’ attorney, Neil T. O’Donnell, of Kingston, never “clearly demonstrates” why the case warrants such damages.
Heisler writes Scavone “momentarily nodded off and struck something” while driving home, stopped to see what it was and drove off when he didn’t see anything. He argues Scavone wasn’t speeding, didn’t veer outside his lane and “felt alright” to drive home when he left the bar.
“There is evidence a roadside dumpster may have obstructed both of their views,” Heisler writes. “It is unknown whether (Paula Jones) was running alongside the road, but not on the road, and then decided to come onto the road surface. These are just a few of the issues that will never be answered and will remain the subjects of speculation.”
