Justice denied in San Luis Obispo County

October 29, 2024

Correction: At the time of the incident, Erik Benham did not believe he was losing the case.

By KAREN VELIE

Can a defendant who is losing a case delay trial through an alleged physical altercation with the plaintiff in front of the jury? In San Luis Obispo County they can.

Near the end of a nearly month-long trial over allegations Erik Benham defrauded Vic Kurkeyerian regarding a partnership agreement, San Luis Obispo Superior Court Judge Tana Coates declared a mistrial after jurors witnessed an altercation. Judge Coates then rescheduled the trial for Sept. 2025.

And even though attorney John Belsher failed to appear at a debtor’s exam on Monday morning, he was in court on Monday afternoon representing Benham.

At 3 p.m., a witness for Kurkeyerian, developer Nick Tompkins, was scheduled to testify. At 2:45 p.m., Judge Coates called a 15 minute break and the jury, the attorneys and the parties headed into the hallway.

Benham and Belsher went into the restroom while a group of jurors stood nearby. Kurkeyerian then headed for the bathroom as Belsher was walking out.

In the bathroom doorway, Benham and Kurkeyerian collided. Benham then yelled “you tried to bump me” and “you punched me,” according to witnesses. Benham called 911 while multiple bailiffs quickly responded.

While Benham said Kurkeyerian started the altercation, Kurkeyerian said Benham chest bumped him and that no punches were thrown.

“They were going to get reamed in court, but their stunt resulted in a mistrial,” Kurkeyerian said. “This is not justice at all.”

Kurkeyerian told CalCoastNews it appeared he was likely to prevail in the case.

In an odd twist, in a recently released Netflix series, an attorney stages an altercation in order to get a mistrial. In the third season, second episode of The Lincoln Lawyer, the star attorney on the show concocts a scheme in which his client hits him in front of the jury, resulting in a mistrial.

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