The family of the deceased 55-year-old fashion consultant Timothy Dean, who died of a crystal meth overdose on Jan. 7, 2019 in the West Hollywood’s home of major Democratic donor Ed Buck, have consulted with their attorneys to file a wrongful death lawsuit in Los Angeles’ Superior Court.
This will be Buck’s second wrongful death lawsuit involving a crystal meth overdose at his home.
The lawsuit was filed on Jan. 7, exactly one year after Dean’s death, is looking for answers, as well as damages against Buck for sexual battery; drug dealing liability; negligence; wrongful death; intentional infliction of emotional distress; as well as hate violence.
The lawsuit states, that Buck allegedly, “had a predatory and injurious system of soliciting Black gay men and watching them cling to life while battling symptoms of methamphetamine toxicity after he intravenously administered large doses of the drug to them.”
“The civil lawsuits seek to remedy the actual racial and sexual injustice that Ed Buck perpetrated,” attorney Hussain Turk explained. “The wrongful death lawsuits fill in the substantial gaps created by the inadequate federal and state criminal complaints, neither of which directly addresses Ed Buck’s racism or his alleged intentional killings of Gemmel Moore and Timothy Dean. “
Turk also represents the Moore family in their lawsuit against Buck.
“The civil lawsuits are important because they seek to hold Ed Buck specifically accountable for engaging in racially—and sexually—motivated hate violence against Black gay men,” Turk continued. “These cases are not just about furnishing drugs that resulted in deaths and grievous bodily injuries—these cases are colored by the racial identities and social positions of the victims and the perpetrator. Ed Buck didn’t just hand out drugs that resulted in the deaths of Mr. Moore and Mr. Dean—Ed Buck deliberately and exclusively used drugs to commit disgusting acts of race-based sexual violence against a specific demographic.”
The 26-year-old Moore, was found dead of a crystal meth overdose on July 27, 2017 in Buck’s apartment, and that death was immediately classified as an accidental methamphetamine overdose by the coroner. However, on July 26, 2018 District Attorney Jackie Lacey who was assisted by Assistant Head Deputy District Attorney Craig Hum, declined to file any charges against Buck due to lack of evidence. Almost six months later, Dean died in Bucks apartment in the same exact way.
“The goal is holding not only Ed Buck to account, but also the county and the leaders who are supposed to be protecting everyone in Los Angeles,” Turk stated. “Had the victims in this case been White or wealthy, then we firmly believe that the claims would have been taken much more seriously.”
