2nd Broderick Suit Over Tape Voided

SAN DIEGO —  A lawsuit filed by Elisabeth Anne (Betty) Broderick--stemming from an altercation with jail deputies that was videotaped and shown on television--was dismissed Friday.

San Diego County Superior Court Judge J. Richard Haden dismissed Broderick’s lawsuit, which was filed against attorney James Cunningham and Sheriff’s Deputy Michele St. Clair. Haden ruled that the lawsuit lacked merit. Haden dismissed a similar lawsuit against the county last week.

The judge said that Broderick, who acted as her own attorney, failed to show how the release of the videotape caused her to suffer embarrassment and emotional distress. Broderick had sued Cunningham and St. Clair over the videotape’s release.

The videotape shows Broderick, dressed in a sweat shirt and underwear, struggling with deputies who were trying to remove her from a top bunk at the Las Colinas Women’s Jail.

Cunningham released a portion of the videotape last year. The tape was shown on television news programs and tabloid shows. He is representing St. Clair, who sued Broderick for injuries she allegedly suffered in the altercation.

Broderick, a former La Jolla socialite, was convicted of second-degree murder last year in the shooting deaths of her former husband, attorney Dan Broderick, and his second wife, Linda Kolkena Broderick.