The following article was posted on www.jsonline.com
Judge extends freeze on assets of driver in fatal crash
Lawsuit seeks damages in fatal crash
mikejohnson@journalsentinel.com
Posted: June 7, 2008
Waukesha - A Waukesha County judge on Friday issued a temporary injunction that prevents Mark M. Benson, the former physician charged with homicide by intoxicated use of a vehicle, from divesting any assets while a wrongful death and personal injury lawsuit and criminal charges are pending against him.
Benson is charged in the death April 25 of Jennifer Bukosky, her unborn child and her 10-year-old daughter, Courtney Bella. Bukosky was a popular educator and associate principal at Oconomowoc High School.
Benson also is charged with causing the injury of two other children.
Attorneys with Habush Habush & Rottier sought the temporary injunction because Benson was overheard on the day he was arrested telling his wife he would shift assets out of his name, sell his gun collection and get a public defender.
Circuit Judge Kathryn W. Foster, who on May 9 granted a temporary restraining order freezing Benson's assets, on Friday imposed the longer-term injunction.
That came after Habush lawyer Robert L. Jaskulski pointed out that Benson made no reference to what is believed to be his "fairly extensive" and "fairly expensive" gun collection in a list of assets and their worth. Benson had been ordered by the court to provide a record of his assets so Habush attorneys could monitor them.
In granting the injunction, Foster noted that Benson's statements to his wife, which were overheard by a police officer, could be used to demonstrate that Benson may have intended to dissipate his assets.
And she noted that if Habush attorneys prevail in the lawsuit, monetary damages awarded likely could exceed the $3.5 million policy limits of Benson's insurance.
Although Benson's assets, including real estate, are frozen, he will be allowed to withdraw money to pay for his family's daily living expenses and to cover legal bills related to his criminal case.
The civil lawsuit was filed May 7 by Michael J. Bukosky, Jennifer's husband, and Deborah Gibbs, one of the injured children, and her parents, Michelle A. Gibbs and Daniel B. Gibbs. It seeks an unspecified amount of money for the deaths and injuries.
The suit says Benson was negligent because he was operating under the influence of intoxicants and traveling at high speed when his SUV slammed into the back of Bukosky's car.
According to police and court records, Bukosky's vehicle was stopped at about 3:30 p.m. April 25, at a traffic signal in the northbound lane of Highway 67 at Pabst Road in Oconomowoc when it was struck by Benson's sport utility vehicle. Benson's driving was impaired by a mix of prescription drugs he had taken that day, the Waukesha County district attorney's office contends.
