Valley Man Falsely Imprisoned in Mother's Murder Settles Lawsuit

A Sherman Oaks man who served 26 years in prison for the murder of his mother before a judge decided prosecutors had presented false evidence has tentatively settled a federal civil rights lawsuit against the city of Los Angeles, a court document obtained today shows.

Bill Genego, an attorney for Bruce Lisker, declined comment until the Los Angeles City Council votes to approve the agreement.

According to a judge’s minute order, filed in Los Angeles federal court, a mediator’s proposal resulted in the settlement, and any City Council action on the matter is not expected until December.

A motions hearing in the case, originally scheduled for today in Los Angeles federal court, was canceled.

Lisker was convicted in 1985 of second-degree murder and sentenced to 16 years to life in prison for the death of his 66-year-old mother, Dorka, who was found stabbed and beaten to death in their Sherman Oaks home in 1983, when he was 17 years old.

A Los Angeles Times investigation in 2005 called into question much of the evidence in Lisker’s trial, and his conviction was overturned in August 2009 by a federal judge in Riverside, who ruled that false evidence had been used and that Lisker had inadequate legal representation.

Lisker, who is now 50, was released from prison in 2009 after U.S. District Judge Virginia A. Phillips voided his conviction, and the state dropped charges against him.

In 2010, Lisker sued former Los Angeles police detectives Andrew Monsue and Howard Landgre, and the city of Los Angeles, alleging his civil rights were violated by the detectives.

In March, a panel of the U.S. 9th Circuit Court of Appeals in Pasadena said although police officers cannot be sued in connection with their court testimony, they can be sued for “unlawful actions” during an investigation.

The panel affirmed a lower court’s ruling denying absolute immunity to the detectives, setting the stage for trial.

City News Service; Photo: Bruce Lisker @ICBruce1