Lawyer with Stokes Lawrence defends psychic: Legal issues explode

Psychic police detective Noreen Renier: A summary of litigation and legal stumbles

This is a segment page from a multi-page web site. You may wish to refer to HOME or see the full index of this web site at the extreme bottom of this page.

On November 16, 2006 a Washington federal court granted skeptic writer John Merrell a judgment against the sole police psychic to lecture at the FBI, and the leading psychic investigator seen on the Court TV series Psychic Detectives.

That 2006 judgment was based on psychic Noreen Renier breaching a Florida court settlement signed between Merrell and Renier in 1992. And on January 22, 2007 U.S. District Judge James Robart denied Renier's further motions for reconsideration.

On April 5, 2007 the same judge awarded costs and fees to Merrell. The total estimated costs and losses for Renier following the April 5th order now are estimated to top $141,000 --- as a cost and decision breakdown shows --- plus her original book was banished by the publisher. The court awarded Merrell $39,558 which with interest has grew to $44,305 by late March 2008 with another $14,100 presently under review.

This site offers a full index exploring the psychic history of Noreen Renier at the extreme bottom of this page.

Now having filed for a Chapter 7 bankruptcy, Renier has revised her 2005 book titled A Mind for Murder originally published by Berkley Publishing (Penguin Group), yet may not yet have fully weighed the impact of a federal court judgment against her.

The attorney representing Berkley Publishing (Penguin Group, U.S.A. Inc.) as the publisher of Renier's 2005 book A Mind for Murder told a Washington state judge they banished all publication in early 2006 following the lawsuit by Merrell.

Merrell notes "The string of failures by Noreen Renier is lengthy. She has a revised book now published but without more than 50 references to me and with royalties being collected by a Bankruptcy Trustee for distribution to her principal creditors --- of which I'm the first. She was not correct that the very skeptic she originally sued in a county court would ultimately prevail in a federal court. She failed to foresee a federal judgment against her, telling one reporter in October 2006 that she would win. She failed repeatedly in her attempts to overturn the new federal judgment against her. Faced with very significant costs with just my slice of her debt at least $44,300 and now quite possibly (in June 2008) over $55,000 she filed for her second Chapter 7 bankruptcy. I can't imagine a more miserable performance by a someone who has claimed future psychic foresight."

Merrell stated in early 2007 that "Noreen Renier was notified by my attorney in September 2005 that without her response I would file a lawsuit. Whether out of arrogance or her sense that she need not respond, Renier did nothing. I patiently waited as Noreen Renier sat in silence. After waiting for more than 2 months without even an acknowledgement by Renier, I filed my lawsuit on December 12, 2005 and took the litigation forward to its present win."

On her 71st birthday (January 16, 2008) Merrell estimated Renier's legal bills and lawsuit related losses over the past 20 years are 30 times more than any funds she didn't pay her attorneys following an original settlement payment he provided her in 1992. And the payment she received then is already less than half what she owes now.

Merrell notes that it is a strange pathway for a psychic who claims foresight to follow. "Wouldn't one think a psychic would see costly errors coming? And why after creating an error which results in a federal judgment would someone who has claimed psychic foresight continue to rack up further costs? Even a non-psychic might consider spending a few thousand dollars or even doubling their initial loss in the hope of over turning a decision ---- but in this case no significant movement forward has been achieved. It's been said you cannot achieve a true failure in judgment without consistently compounding your mistakes. Her result may be a forecast record rarely seen --- the perfect example of a pathway right off the edge."

Can one point to any major psychic foresights in this case as pursued by Noreen Renier? Just the opposite.

Amazingly the same federal court that ruled against her is the court Renier spent weeks legally moving the case to during several months of 2006. Merrell originally filed in a lower state court and attempted throughout 2006 to keep it at the state level. As Merrell notes "She actually sought out her own higher court against my legal efforts and not only lost on the judgment but had her counterclaims eliminated. It certainly doesn't showcase any brilliant psychic sensitivity to steer a pathway directly to failure."

The pathway taken by police psychic Noreen Renier and her Seattle attorney Shelley Hall of the law firm Stokes Lawrence, P.S., was consistently swamped. Along with their psychic client the Stokes Lawrence legal pathway showcased little but sand traps and water hazards. Over the course of a year the filed motions on behalf of Noreen Renier became the consistency of quicksand. Apparently some legal cases aren't over until a law firm's client is buried under the loss of a federal court judgment with heavy debts owed to the lawsuit filer --- not to mention enormous litigation costs.

Yet after her psychic client's loss in federal court, Seattle Stokes Lawrence lawyer Shelley M. Hall told a Virginia journalist that she wasn't ready to suggest that police psychic Noreen Renier write a check. "The case is far from over," said Hall in late 2006. But attorney Shelley Hall was wrong even on that call as the last of her filed reconsideration's was shut down by the court by late January 2007. "I would have expected even a pre-law student would have turned their nose up at this case --- the outcome was quite clear from the beginning" notes Merrell.

Screw Ball There are thousands of legal cases. How does any lawyer measure the depths of a quicksand case? At what point does a law firm admit they've lost a case? At what point does an attorney look at the fees they've racked up against their clients long term interests?

Amazingly too is that her attorney --- Shelley Hall of Seattle's Stokes Lawrence P.S. --- is listed as of October 8, 2008 with the second largest unpaid debt by Noreen Renier in the late August 2007 bankruptcy filing by Renier.

$26,214.13 in unpaid services for Stokes Lawrence pertaining to services with attorney Shelley Hall.

In fact the August 28, 2007 bankruptcy filing by Hall's psychic client Renier shows just three payments paid to Hall totaling $1000. It would appear Hall has been paid approximately $8.20 per hour for her work.

You just have to wonder whether defensive lawyers across the country are developing some new undisclosed strategic plan when you see these remarkable results.

Law & Order never portrayed a defensive playbook where the goals were set by a psychic medium who claims communication with the dead and also proclaims multiple entities. Was this an example of a screwball case?

Noreen Renier previously testified that she talks with friendly and unfriendly ghosts and telephones would ring "and people would pick it up and there would be no one on the line. There'd be footsteps. . . .and I found out it was a woman that had died in the whirlpool on a Wednesday at 10 o'clock. She [the ghost] gave me the name of her husband and gave me the name of her attorney. [After asking] why she was haunting the spa and she said, because her attorney hadn't finished the suit or the lawsuit. . . "

Merrell notes that "perhaps the efforts by Renier and attorney Shelley Hall to continue fighting the case throughout 2006 and early 2007 were necessary. Renier previously testified that one unfinished lawsuit caused a ghost to overflow toilets and whirlpools. Clearly no one wants to see toilets overflow if a solid law firm might have resolved such paranormal bathroom disturbances in winning litigation for their psychic client. . . . . .of course there are more rational explanations than believing in ghosts that overflow toilets. Since I don't know how the plumbing at Seattle law firm Stokes Lawrence, P.S. is currently functioning --- or might malfunction by ghosts in the future --- I'll never understand why they simply didn't move to close this lawsuit sooner. Perhaps they needed to build up funds to off set any potential paranormal plumbing repairs. I suppose it's likely most Seattle plumbers would think twice before giving an estimate to exterminate ghosts amid plumbing."

With a loss --- rather than a win ---- will there be a need for Seattle lawyers to use Ghostbuster services along 4th, 5th and 6th avenues? Are preparations set to call for the Ghostbuster vehicle?

The methods used in the American legal system don't always support the truth and mend the damaged. Among the thousands of cases heard there are cases where attorneys may support and prolong the fantasy world of their clients even as they sink deeper into an abyss. Clearly this process is often helped along as some lawyers continually drive litigation forward as they collect fees. The legal trade is a business. And cutting a direct and shortened pathway to truth and justice is not always the most profitable route. That factor applies on an international basis.

The November 2006 federal judgment against Renier was based on Renier referencing Merrell, (more than 50 times) in her book A Mind for Murder. The judge did not determine whether or not Renier is a psychic, or whether her statements were true or false. His court order however states ". . . the record before the court shows that it is impossible that Ms. Renier breached the agreement in this case without some level of fault. She knew or should have known of the agreement, and breached it nonetheless." Additionally the judge dismissed all of Noreen Renier's counter claims and noted "The court rejects Ms. Renier's claim that she did not breach the Settlement Agreement because her statements in A Mind for Murder are, according to her, true."

After signing a Florida state settlement with psychic detective Noreen Renier in early 1992, John Merrell broke his silence after almost 14 years by filing a lawsuit in December 2005 following Renier's publication of her book A Mind For Murder. Their 1992 settlement agreement stated that both parties would end all mutual interaction "directly or indirectly . . . which attempts in any way to diminish and/or disparage the other's reputation . . . including but not limited to contacts with . . . any news organizations or media of any type."

On November 16, 2005 United States District Court for the Western District of Washington at Seattle granted a summary judgment sought by John Merrell. The court noted that "Ms. Renier breached the settlement agreement" with the publication of her book A Mind for Murder, and "Ms. Renier cannot prevail on her counterclaims." That court order is posted below.

One must wonder why many within the international psychic and paranormal belief community appear quite content to maintain silence about this case. This case involves the police psychic deemed by some within the paranormal community as "the best" and "most accurate" and "most credible internationally." If the psychic community is full of authentic psychics, why didn't anyone predict this federal judgment on the internet a year ago? Or 22 years ago when the litigation began? And why indeed did a psychic let it happen?

See below for key legal filings, and the web site INDEX is beneath this files.



Psychic police detective Noreen Renier: A summary of litigation and legal stumbles This is a segment page from a multi-page web site. You may wish to refer to HOME or see the full index of this web site at the extreme bottom of this page. On November 16, 2006 a Washington federal court granted skeptic writer John Merrell a judgment against the sole police psychic to lecture at the FBI, and the leading psychic investigator seen on the Court TV series Psychic Detectives. That 2006 judgment was based on psychic Noreen Renier breaching a Florida court settlement signed between Merrell and Renier in 1992. And on January 22, 2007 U.S. District Judge James Robart denied Renier's further motions for reconsideration. On April 5, 2007 the same judge awarded costs and fees to Merrell. The total estimated costs and losses for Renier following the April 5th order now are estimated to top $141,000 --- as a cost and decision breakdown shows --- plus her original book was banished by the publisher. The court awarded Merrell $39,558 which with interest has grew to $44,305 by late March 2008 with another $14,100 presently under review. *This site offers a full index exploring the psychic history of Noreen Renier at the extreme* bottom of this page.** Now having filed for a Chapter 7 bankruptcy, Renier has revised her 2005 book titled A Mind for Murder originally published by Berkley Publishing (Penguin Group), yet may not yet have fully weighed the impact of a federal court judgment against her. The attorney representing Berkley Publishing (Penguin Group, U.S.A. Inc.) as the publisher of Renier's 2005 book A Mind for Murder told a Washington state judge they banished all publication in early 2006 following the lawsuit by Merrell. Merrell notes "The string of failures by Noreen Renier is lengthy. She has a revised book now published but without more than 50 references to me and with royalties being collected by a Bankruptcy Trustee for distribution to her principal creditors --- of which I'm the first. She was not correct that the very skeptic she originally sued in a county court would ultimately prevail in a federal court. She failed to foresee a federal judgment against her, telling one reporter in October 2006 that she would win. She failed repeatedly in her attempts to overturn the new federal judgment against her. Faced with very significant costs with just my slice of her debt at least $44,300 and now quite possibly (in June 2008) over $55,000 she filed for her second Chapter 7 bankruptcy. I can't imagine a more miserable performance by a someone who has claimed future psychic foresight." Merrell stated in early 2007 that "Noreen Renier was notified by my attorney in September 2005 that without her response I would file a lawsuit. Whether out of arrogance or her sense that she need not respond, Renier did nothing. I patiently waited as Noreen Renier sat in silence. After waiting for more than 2 months without even an acknowledgement by Renier, I filed my lawsuit on December 12, 2005 and took the litigation forward to its present win." On her 71st birthday (January 16, 2008) Merrell estimated Renier's legal bills and lawsuit related losses over the past 20 years are 30 times more than any funds she didn't pay her attorneys following an original settlement payment he provided her in 1992. And the payment she received then is already less than half what she owes now. Merrell notes that it is a strange pathway for a psychic who claims foresight to follow. "Wouldn't one think a psychic would see costly errors coming? And why after creating an error which results in a federal judgment would someone who has claimed psychic foresight continue to rack up further costs? Even a non-psychic might consider spending a few thousand dollars or even doubling their initial loss in the hope of over turning a decision ---- but in this case no significant movement forward has been achieved. It's been said you cannot achieve a true failure in judgment without consistently compounding your mistakes. Her result may be a forecast record rarely seen --- the perfect example of a pathway right off the edge." Can one point to any major psychic foresights in this case as pursued by Noreen Renier? Just the opposite. Amazingly the same federal court that ruled against her is the court Renier spent weeks legally moving the case to during several months of 2006. Merrell originally filed in a lower state court and attempted throughout 2006 to keep it at the state level. As Merrell notes "She actually sought out her own higher court against my legal efforts and not only lost on the judgment but had her counterclaims eliminated. It certainly doesn't showcase any brilliant psychic sensitivity to steer a pathway directly to failure." The pathway taken by police psychic Noreen Renier and her Seattle attorney Shelley Hall of the law firm Stokes Lawrence, P.S., was consistently swamped. Along with their psychic client the Stokes Lawrence legal pathway showcased little but sand traps and water hazards. Over the course of a year the filed motions on behalf of Noreen Renier became the consistency of quicksand. Apparently some legal cases aren't over until a law firm's client is buried under the loss of a federal court judgment with heavy debts owed to the lawsuit filer --- not to mention enormous litigation costs. Yet after her psychic client's loss in federal court, Seattle Stokes Lawrence lawyer Shelley M. Hall told a Virginia journalist that she wasn't ready to suggest that police psychic Noreen Renier write a check. "The case is far from over," said Hall in late 2006. But attorney Shelley Hall was wrong even on that call as the last of her filed reconsideration's was shut down by the court by late January 2007. "I would have expected even a pre-law student would have turned their nose up at this case --- the outcome was quite clear from the beginning" notes Merrell. There are thousands of legal cases. How does any lawyer measure the depths of a quicksand case? At what point does a law firm admit they've lost a case? At what point does an attorney look at the fees they've racked up against their clients long term interests? Amazingly too is that her attorney --- Shelley Hall of Seattle's Stokes Lawrence P.S. --- is listed as of October 8, 2008 with the second largest unpaid debt by Noreen Renier in the late August 2007 bankruptcy filing by Renier. $26,214.13 in unpaid services for Stokes Lawrence pertaining to services with attorney Shelley Hall. In fact the August 28, 2007 bankruptcy filing by Hall's psychic client Renier shows just three payments paid to Hall totaling $1000. It would appear Hall has been paid approximately $8.20 per hour for her work. You just have to wonder whether defensive lawyers across the country are developing some new undisclosed strategic plan when you see these remarkable results. Law & Order never portrayed a defensive playbook where the goals were set by a psychic medium who claims communication with the dead and also proclaims multiple entities. Was this an example of a screwball case? Noreen Renier previously testified that she talks with friendly and unfriendly ghosts and telephones would ring "and people would pick it up and there would be no one on the line. There'd be footsteps. . . .and I found out it was a woman that had died in the whirlpool on a Wednesday at 10 o'clock. She [the ghost] gave me the name of her husband and gave me the name of her attorney. [After asking] why she was haunting the spa and she said, because her attorney hadn't finished the suit or the lawsuit. . . " Merrell notes that "perhaps the efforts by Renier and attorney Shelley Hall to continue fighting the case throughout 2006 and early 2007 were necessary. Renier previously testified that one unfinished lawsuit caused a ghost to overflow toilets and whirlpools. Clearly no one wants to see toilets overflow if a solid law firm might have resolved such paranormal bathroom disturbances in winning litigation for their psychic client. . . . . .of course there are more rational explanations than believing in ghosts that overflow toilets. Since I don't know how the plumbing at Seattle law firm Stokes Lawrence, P.S. is currently functioning --- or might malfunction by ghosts in the future --- I'll never understand why they simply didn't move to close this lawsuit sooner. Perhaps they needed to build up funds to off set any potential paranormal plumbing repairs. I suppose it's likely most Seattle plumbers would think twice before giving an estimate to exterminate ghosts amid plumbing." With a loss --- rather than a win ---- will there be a need for Seattle lawyers to use Ghostbuster services along 4th, 5th and 6th avenues? Are preparations set to call for the Ghostbuster vehicle? The methods used in the American legal system don't always support the truth and mend the damaged. Among the thousands of cases heard there are cases where attorneys may support and prolong the fantasy world of their clients even as they sink deeper into an abyss. Clearly this process is often helped along as some lawyers continually drive litigation forward as they collect fees. The legal trade is a business. And cutting a direct and shortened pathway to truth and justice is not always the most profitable route. That factor applies on an international basis. The November 2006 federal judgment against Renier was based on Renier referencing Merrell, (more than 50 times) in her book A Mind for Murder. The judge did not determine whether or not Renier is a psychic, or whether her statements were true or false. His court order however states ". . . the record before the court shows that it is impossible that Ms. Renier breached the agreement in this case without some level of fault. She knew or should have known of the agreement, and breached it nonetheless." Additionally the judge dismissed all of Noreen Renier's counter claims and noted "The court rejects Ms. Renier's claim that she did not breach the Settlement Agreement because her statements in A Mind for Murder are, according to her, true." After signing a Florida state settlement with psychic detective Noreen Renier in early 1992, John Merrell broke his silence after almost 14 years by filing a lawsuit in December 2005 following Renier's publication of her book A Mind For Murder. Their 1992 settlement agreement stated that both parties would end all mutual interaction "directly or indirectly . . . which attempts in any way to diminish and/or disparage the other's reputation . . . including but not limited to contacts with . . . any news organizations or media of any type." On November 16, 2005 United States District Court for the Western District of Washington at Seattle granted a summary judgment sought by John Merrell. The court noted that "Ms. Renier breached the settlement agreement" with the publication of her book A Mind for Murder, and "Ms. Renier cannot prevail on her counterclaims." That court order is posted below. One must wonder why many within the international psychic and paranormal belief community appear quite content to maintain silence about this case. This case involves the police psychic deemed by some within the paranormal community as "the best" and "most accurate" and "most credible internationally." If the psychic community is full of authentic psychics, why didn't anyone predict this federal judgment on the internet a year ago? Or 22 years ago when the litigation began? And why indeed did a psychic let it happen? See below for key legal filings, and the web site INDEX is beneath this files.
Twenty-five years after first being used as a symbol of one of the nation's first local skeptics groups, the Northwest Skeptics, the Sherlock logo returns. I appreciate the continued support from my national and international colleagues. As I noted following my loss at the 1986 Oregon trial, some efforts to showcase the truth take difficult pathways, but finally lies trip up those who make them. –John Merrell, May 2006	See PDF files of filings below: (Need Adobe Reader?) If you have problems loading these files, please hit your Refresh button. September 30, 2005, Breach Of Settlement Letter December 13, 2005, Lawsuit Complaint Filing February 10, 1992, Original Mutual Release And Settlement Agreement February 2, 2006, Plaintiffs’ First Interrogatories And Request For Production February 15, 2006, Plaintiffs’ Response To Defendant Penguin and Berkley’s Motion To Dismiss Motion To Remand To Snohomish County Superior Court John Merrell's Response To Noreen Renier's Opposition To Motion To Remand To Snohomish County Superior Court Initial Disclosure Pursuant To FED.R.CIV.P.26(A)(1) Of Plaintiff John Merrell Minute Order Setting Trial Date August 21, 2006 Defendant Noreen Renier's Response To Motion To Amend Complaint August 25, 2006 Plaintiff's Reply To Defendant's Response To Motion To Amend Complaint September 8, 2006, United States District Judge James L. Robart Grants Plaintiff's Motion To Amend September 8, 2006, Plaintiff's Motion For Summary Judgment October 6, 2006, Defendant Noreen Renier's Response To Summary Judgment Motion October 6, 2006, Plaintiff's Reply To Defendant Noreen Renier's Response To Summary Judgment Motion October 4, 2006, Plaintiff's First Interrogatories And Request For Production And Responses Thereto November 16, 2006, Court Order/Summary Judgment November 22, 2006, Motion to Remand December 8, 2006, Court Order January 24, 2007, Minute Order January 25, 2007 Order Against Reconsideration February 14, 2007 Declaration Of Ross Radley February 16, 2007 Plaintiff's Reply To Defendant's Response To Plaintiff's Fee Motion April 5, 2007 Court Decision on Cost and Fees to Merrell August 7, 2007 Virginia Filing For Collection
Noreen Renier Biography 2008: Examining a psychic charade Background on John Merrell Skeptic versus Psychic: Why they battle *Psychic Renier claims to find a crashed plane: A fantasy a runway* long (Part 1)** Runway Part 2: A cover-up before millions of TV viewers Runway Part 3: A cover-up by psychic proponents and during testimony Runway Part 4: Examining the depths of Renier's crash fantasy Psychic Skeptic War: Legal decisions and Ouija boards Another writer examines the battle between Renier and Merrell Federal judgment against Court TV psychic Noreen Renier and litigation summary Epilogue Please e-mail your comments *HOME: A Mind for Murder or A Mind for Mischief?*
Copyright© 2008 Gargantua & Pantagruel Inquiry Group. IP & Sherlock TM by John Merrell. Media support acknowledged.