Filing # 111479225 E-Filed 08/07/2020 04:29:15 PM

IN THE CIRCUIT COURT, TWENTY-

NINTH JUDICIAL CIRCUIT, IN AND
FOR HILLSBOROUGH COUNTY,
FLORIDA

CASE NUMBER:
DIVISION:

DONNA L. PETTIS, an individual,

LYNDA L. SANCHEZ, an individual,
GALE L. RATHBONE, an individual and
ANNE MCQUEEN, an individual,

Plaintiffs,

v.

CAROLE BASKIN, an individual,

SUSAN BRADSHAW, an individual and
KENNETH WAYNE FARR, an individual,

Defendants.
__________________________________________/

COMPLAINT FOR A PURE BILL OF DISCOVERY

COME NOW, the Plaintiffs, Donna L. Pettis, Lynda L. Sanchez, Gale L. Rathbone, and

Anne McQueen, by and through undersigned counsel, and bring this equitable action to

determine the identities of proper party defendant(s), the appropriate legal theories for relief and

whether (and to what extent) a complaint for damages is warranted, as well as to ensure evidence

is preserved. It is filed against the Defendants, Carol Baskin, Susan Bradshaw, and Kenneth

Wayne Farr, and in support thereof allege:

JURISDICTIONAL ALLEGATIONS

1. This Complaint is a pure bill of discovery.

2. The basis for the Court’s jurisdiction lies in equity.

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 3. At all times material hereto, Plaintiff, Donna L. Pettis, was a natural person and resident

of Pasco County, Florida. Plaintiff, Donna L. Pettis, is an actual party at interest herein and is

not merely a witness or third party.

4. At all times material hereto, Plaintiff, Lynda L. Sanchez, was a natural person and

resident of Sumter County, Florida. Plaintiff, Lynda L. Sanchez, is an actual party at interest

herein and is not merely a witness or third party.

5. At all times material hereto, Plaintiff, Gale L. Rathbone, was a natural person and

resident of Pasco County, Florida. Plaintiff, Gale L. Rathbone, is an actual party at interest

herein and is not merely a witness or third party.

6. At all times material hereto, Plaintiff, Anne McQueen, was a natural person and resident

of Hillsborough County, Florida. Plaintiff, Anne McQueen, is an actual party at interest herein

and is not merely a witness or third party.

7. At all times material hereto, Defendant, Carole Baskin, was a natural person and resident

of Hillsborough County, Florida. Venue is proper in this county since Defendant, Carole Baskin,

resides there and since the causes of action under investigation arose therein.

8. At all times material hereto, Defendant, Susan Bradshaw, was a natural person and

resident of Hillsborough County, Florida. Venue is proper in this county since Defendant, Susan

Bradshaw, resides there and since the causes of action under investigation arose therein.

9. At all times material hereto, Defendant, Kenneth Wayne Farr, was a natural person and

resident of Hillsborough County, Florida. Venue is proper in this county since Defendant,

Kenneth Wayne Farr resided there at the time of the cause of action and since the causes of

action under investigation arose therein.

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 10. Venue is proper in this county since the cause of action under investigation arose at Big

Cat Rescue f/k/a Wildlife on Easy Street, located in Tampa, Hillsborough County, Florida.

RELEVANT FACTUAL BACKGROUND

11. Upon information and belief, Carole Baskin (nee Stairs Jones) was the last known spouse

of Jack Donald Lewis (April 30, 1968 – legal d. August 19, 2002.)

12. Although Ms. Baskin and Mr. Lewis engaged in a pre-marital relationship, Defendant

Baskin and Mr. Lewis divorced their respective spouses and subsequently married in 1991. They

were married until the disappearance or death of Mr. Lewis in 1997.

13. On or about June 12, 1997, Mr. Lewis filed a restraining order against Defendant Baskin

in Hillsborough County, Case No. 97-DR-7370, claiming that she had “threatened to kill” him.

Although the restraining order was denied, other witnesses have since indicated marital discord

between Defendant Baskin and Mr. Lewis.

14. Mr. Lewis was last seen on August 18, 1997, approximately two months after seeking a

restraining order, and was declared legally deceased in 2002. Defendant Baskin claims to be the

last person to have seen Mr. Lewis alive.

15. Upon information and belief, sometime after Mr. Lewis was declared deceased, a dispute

arose between Defendant Baskin and some of the above-named Plaintiffs, Donna L. Pettis,

Lynda L. Sanchez, and Gale L. Rathbone (Lewis's children), over the estate of Mr. Lewis. Issues

still exist about whether the last known will and testament of Mr. Lewis and a Power of Attorney

relied upon by Defendant Baskin in the probate court was bona fide.

16. Since 1997, Defendant Baskin has engaged in significant communications with news

media, including a recent documentary, which debuted March 20, 2020, entitled, Tiger King:

Murder, Mayhem and Madness.

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 17. Defendant Baskin has also kept a very public “diary” in all forms- in print, online, via

video entry, on Facebook, YouTube, Twitter and on various websites. Some of the important

entries of this “diary” may have been stolen and are believed to be in the hands of third-parties.

18. In some of these entries, there are concerning and potentially actionable statements about

Mr. Lewis’s children, Donna L. Pettis, Lynda L. Sanchez, and Gale L. Rathbone, as well as his

longtime co-worker, Anne McQueen.

19. Multiple concerning statements have been made regarding the disappearance and death of

Mr. Lewis by Defendant Baskin. Some have been inconsistent or sensational and others have

caused Defendant Baskin to be under, and remain under, the microscope of an open criminal

investigation for decades.

20. Defendant Kenneth Wayne Farr was a longtime employee of both Mr. Lewis and

Defendant Baskin. He was heavily involved in the decedent’s business and personal affairs.

Defendant Farr is believed to have information regarding the disappearance and death of Mr.

Lewis. Furthermore, based upon a recently publicized interview, Defendant Farr claims to have

direct information regarding Mr. Lewis’ assets and financial interests.

21. Susan Bradshaw has allegedly indicated Defendant Carole Baskin asked her to testify

that she was witness to the execution of Mr. Lewis’s testamentary documents and/or power of

attorney, when she was not.

22. Donna L. Pettis, Lynda L. Sanchez, Gale L. Rathbone, and Anne McQueen have

retained the services of Phillips & Hunt to determine if they are victims in a criminal case, a civil

case, both or neither. The only way to determine this is to engage in discovery.

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 23. A Pure Bill of Discovery is appropriate as this action seeks to determine the identity of

proper party defendant(s), the appropriate legal theories for relief and whether a complaint for

damages is warranted and determine the basis therefore.

ENTITLEMENT TO RELIEF

24. This is an action in equity. Under Florida law, a pure bill of discovery should be granted

if there is some reasonable basis to believe that discovery in a later damages action would be

inadequate or too late to vindicate the litigant's right to evidence. See Lewis v. Weaver, 969

So.2d 586 (Fla. 4th DCA 2007).

25. The pure bill allows a putative plaintiff to “obtain the disclosure of facts within the

defendant's knowledge, or deeds or writings or other things in [the defendant's] custody, in aid of

the prosecution or defense of an action pending or about to be commenced.” See First National

Bank of Miami v. Dade-Broward Co., 125 Fla. 594, 171 So. 510, 510-11 (1936). It may also

avoid a spoliation claim later. See St. Mary's Hosp. v. Brinson, 685 So.2d 33 (Fla. 4th DCA

1996), rev. denied, 695 So.2d 701 (Fla.1997) (prospective action for damages is valuable

‘probable expectancy’ that court must protect from interference).

26. A Pure Bill of Discovery also allows the putative plaintiffs to determine the identity of

proper party defendant(s) and the appropriate legal theories for relief. See Mendez v. Cochran,

700 So.2d 46, 47 (Fla. 4th DCA 1997) citing; Sunbeam Television Corp. v. Columbia Broad.

Sys., 694 F.Supp. 889, 892 (S.D. Fla. 1988); Adventist Health Sys.,/Sunbelt, Inc. v. Hegwood,

569 So.2d 1295 (Fla. 5th DCA 1990).

27. Upon information and belief, discovery against Defendants Baskin, Bradshaw and Farr is

necessary to investigate facts within their knowledge, deeds and/or writings to aid in the identity

of who and what facts exist related to potential claims of:

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 a. Intentional Infliction of Emotional Distress;

b. Negligent Infliction of Emotional Distress;

c. Defamation, Libel and/or Slander;

d. Fraud or Misrepresentation;

e. Intentional Tort Resulting in Death; 1

f. Negligence;

g. Breach of fiduciary duty; or

h. Other claims necessitating discovery to be alleged in good faith.

28. Criminal investigations are ongoing as to some of these issues, but Plaintiffs have been

denied access to this evidence due to statutory privileges afforded to active law enforcement

investigations and prosecutions.

29. An unripe or inadequate legal remedy exists at this time such that

a pure bill of discovery will be useful to identify potential defendants and theories of liability and

to obtain information necessary for meeting a condition precedent to filing suit.

30. It is unknown to what extent these claims involve parties other than Defendant Baskin,

Bradshaw or Farr.

31. Although, actions brought under “Intentional Tort Resulting in Death” carry no statute

of limitations, actions for defamation, libel or slander carry two year of statutes of limitation. As

such, this matter must be expedited.

32. As courts have said, “One of the purposes of a true bill of discovery is to allow the

injured party to ascertain whether a lawsuit may properly be asserted and under what theory or

1
This subsection “shall not be construed to require an arrest, the filing of formal criminal charges, or a conviction
for a violation of s. 782.04 or s. 782.07 as a condition for filing a civil action.”

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 theories. There must of course be some basis for targeting a particular defendant, and where a

plaintiff is truly on nothing more than a ‘fishing expedition,’ the court, in equity, will not supply

the rod and reel.” This is not a fishing expedition, but it is narrowly tailored to determine which

of the above claims are true and viable through an abbreviated discovery process.

32. Plaintiffs file this Pure Bill of Discovery to determine which “theories of liability” remain

viable to Plaintiffs after twenty-three (23) years and are not time barred. As stated previously,

Mr. Lewis’ death, the central underlying act of a variety of Plaintiff’s potential causes of actions,

occurred in 1997. Some of Plaintiff’s potential civil causes of actions may be time barred by the

Statute of Limitations, unless an exception applies. Plaintiffs reasonably believe that two distinct

exceptions apply to Defendants Baskin, Bradshaw, Farr, and other “potential defendants” which

would overcome the statute of limitations bar, thus opening the door to a number of “theories of

liability”.

33. The Florida Supreme Court has established both the “Delayed Discovery Rule” and the

doctrine of “Equitable Estoppel” which allows Plaintiff’s to file civil actions against certain

defendants beyond the expiration of the statute of limitations if certain conditions are met.

34. Plaintiffs file this Pure Bill of Discovery in an effort to gather information regarding the

applicability of these doctrines to Defendants Baskin, Bradshaw, Farr and other “potential

defendants.” In other words, Defendants Baskin, Bradshaw, and Farr may be “potential

defendants” to a number of causes of actions if an exception to the statute of limitations applies

to them or the “theory of liability” brought against them. Plaintiffs file this Pure Bill of

Discovery to obtain this necessary and otherwise unavailable information.

35. Plaintiffs seek and are entitled to evidence surrounding the Defendants wrongdoing.

Plaintiffs file this Pure Bill because they reasonably believe that the Defendants will restrict

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 access to this information in a subsequently filed damages action due to the anticipated statute of

limitations defense. Under Florida law, “a pure bill of discovery should be granted if there is

reasonable basis to believe that discovery in a later damages action would be inadequate or too

late to vindicate the litigants right to the evidence.” Lewis v. Weaver, 969 So.2d 586 (Fla. 4th

DCA 2007).

36. Based upon information recently revealed, the Plaintiffs have a good faith basis to believe

that Defendants Baskin, Bradshaw, Farr and others may have committed the civil offense of

fraud against Plaintiffs and/or have information about who committed such act of fraud.

37. The Florida Supreme Court in Davis v. Monahan, 832 So.2d 708 (Fla.2002), established

that under the Delayed Discovery Doctrine, “An exception [to the statute of limitations defense]

is made for claims of fraud and products liability in which the accrual of the causes of action is

delayed until the plaintiff either knows or should know that the last element of the cause of

action occurred.”

38. Plaintiffs here seek discovery of information regarding the elements of fraud against

Defendants Baskin, Bradshaw, Farr and others and also seek discovery regarding when this

information could and/or should have been discovered by the Plaintiffs. A plethora of

information regarding the “disappearance” of Mr. Lewis was recently presented to the Plaintiffs.

Only recently have witnesses with information surrounding Mr. Lewis’ “disappearance” and

death, including Defendants Baskin, Bradshaw and Farr, been publicly interviewed. Much of the

information recently revealed to Plaintiffs had otherwise been hidden from Plaintiffs for the

previous twenty-three (23) years. Plaintiff seeks a pure bill of discovery regarding this recently

publicized information and seeks discovery regarding when this information was made available

to the Plaintiffs.

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 39. In addition to seeking the identify of proper parties and legal theories of relief, the

Plaintiffs seek this necessary information in the form of a Pure Bill of Discovery to determine if

and when a cause of action for fraud against Defendants Baskin, Bradshaw and/or Farr accrued

under Florida’s delayed discovery doctrine and seek discovery of information regarding the

elements of fraud against Defendants Baskin, Bradshaw, Farr, and other “potential defendants”.

40. In addition, Plaintiffs seek this Pure Bill of Discovery to discover information in regards

to the doctrine of “Equitable Estoppel” and its potential application to Defendants Baskin,

Bradshaw, Farr and other “potential defendants”.

41. In, Major League Baseball v. Morsani, 790 So.2d 1071, 1077 (Fla. 2001) the Florida

Supreme Court held:

Equitable estoppel .... is not concerned with the running and suspension of the
limitations period, but rather comes into play only after the limitations period has
run and addresses itself to the circumstances in which a party will be estopped
from asserting the statute of limitations as a defense to an admittedly untimely
action because his conduct has induced another into forbearing suit within the
applicable limitations period. Its application is wholly independent of the
limitations period itself and takes its life, not from the language of the statute, but
from the equitable principle that no man will be permitted to profit from his own
wrongdoing in a court of justice. Thus, because equitable estoppel operates
directly on the defendant without abrogating the running of the limitations period
as provided by statute, it might apply no matter how unequivocally the applicable
limitations period is expressed.”

42. As applied, Defendants Baskin, Bradshaw and Farr’s wrongful conduct from twenty-

three (23) years ago to present make them “potential defendants” and may also open the door to

a number of “theories of liability” against them, despite any potential statute of limitations

defense, based upon the doctrine of “Equitable Estoppel”.

43. Based upon recently discovered information, Plaintiffs believe that Defendants Baskin,

Bradshaw and Farr’s conduct, from 1997 to present, induced Plaintiffs into “forbearing suit

within the applicable limitations period.” See Morsani, Supra.

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 44. Plaintiffs seek this Pure Bill of Discovery in regards to Defendants Baskin, Bradshaw,

Farr, and other “potential defendants” to determine whether or not the doctrine of “Equitable

Estoppel” applies to them, despite the passing of the statute of limitations, because of their own

wrongdoing. For example, based upon recently obtained information, Plaintiffs have a good

faith basis to believe that documents surrounding Mr. Lewis’ estate may have been forged by

Defendant Baskin, which prevented Plaintiffs from obtaining information regarding Mr. Lewis’

estate and finances following his disappearance and death.

45. Plaintiffs Pure Bill of Discovery seeks this and similar information for two purposes: 1)

to determine which “theories of liability” are viable against Defendants Baskin, Bradshaw and

Farr based upon Florida’s “equitable estoppel doctrine”, and 2) to identify all other “potential

defendants” to wit the doctrine of “equitable estoppel” may apply. See Mendez v. Cochran, 700

So.2d 46, 47 (Fla. 4th DCA 1997), supra. (“We recognize that a bill of discovery is available as

an aid in bringing or defending an action about to be commenced. It may be used to identify

potential defendants and theories of liability and to obtain information necessary for meeting a

condition precedent to filing suit.”)

RELIEF SOUGHT

46. Some of the above claims require subpoenas be issued to third parties to determine

whether the Defendant’s statements and communications meet the standards of defamation, libel,

slander, infliction of emotional distress, fraud and wrongful death outside of the normal statute of

limitations period and/or if other third parties are responsible.

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 47. Defendants, Carole Baskin, Susan Bradshaw and/or Kenneth Wayne Farr, has and has

had the ability to delete and/or destroy and/or dispose of evidence which gives rise to the

necessity for discovery in this matter.

48. This action is designed to allow discovery and prevent the destruction of evidence,

spoliation of evidence, and/or failure to preserve evidence.

49. Plaintiffs seek discovery of any and all electronic devices and/or data in the possession or

control of the named Defendants relevant to the issues stated herein.

50. Plaintiffs seek discovery of the diaries, digital or paper chronologies and investigative

materials in the possession or control of Defendants relevant to the issues stated herein.

51. Plaintiffs seek to identify what relief is available to them and from whom.

52. Plaintiffs seek depositions and statements under oath.

WHEREFORE, Plaintiffs, Donna L. Pettis, Lynda L. Sanchez, Gale L. Rathbone, and

Anne McQueen, demand that this Court grant discovery from Defendants Carole Baskin, Susan

Bradshaw and Kenneth Wayne Farr, and that it grant any other such relief that it deems just and

proper.

DATED THIS 7th DAY OF AUGUST, 2020.

PHILLIPS & HUNT

/s/ John M. Phillips

John M. Phillips, B.C.S.
Florida Bar No.: 0477575
212 N. Laura Street
Jacksonville, FL 32202
(904) 517-8903
(904) 508-0683 Facsimile
Attorneys for Plaintiff
[email protected]

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