Judge denies Kunz appeal; PI to release findings within 2 weeks
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IDAHO FALLS — A judge has denied an appeal in a lawsuit against a private investigator hired by the Kunz family to help find missing toddler DeOrr Kunz Jr.
Dennis “DeOrr” Kunz, DeOrr’s grandfather, and Vernal Kunz, DeOrr’s father, filed a lawsuit in 2017 against Philip Klein of Texas-based Klein Investigations and Consulting for breach of contract, infliction of emotional distress, libel, slander and fraud. Dennis Kunz died in January.
RELATED | Judge dismisses most of lawsuit against DeOrr Kunz private investigator
A judge dismissed most of the case in February, but Kunz appealed parts of the decision, and a hearing was held June 27.
District Judge Bruce Pickett denied the appeal Friday, essentially closing the civil case that has drawn on for two years.
CLICK HERE TO READ PICKETT’S DECISION PART I
CLICK HERE TO READ PICKETT’S DECISION PART II
“Our insurance company and our firm are entitled to regain our costs of court and attorney fees. I have authorized our counsel to begin the collection process on Vernal Kunz and the estate of DeOrr Kunz Sr. for the $108,000 we have spent defending ourselves on the frivolous and unfounded suit,” Klein said in a statement.
The private investigator also announced that he will launch a website by the end of July containing information he has gathered about the case.
“We will be releasing the website within the next two weeks for you to watch the interrogations. Read the evidence for yourself and make your own decision,” he said. “We think it will open your eyes.”
In a news release, Klein blasted Vernal Kunz and Jessica Mitchell, the parents of DeOrr. They were with their son when he disappeared while on a camping trip in July 2015 at Timber Creek Campground in Leadore. The child has not been found, and nobody has been arrested, although former Lemhi County Sheriff Lynn Bowerman named Kunz and Mitchell as suspects.
Kunz and Mitchell have denied they had anything to do with DeOrr’s disappearance and say they left him with Mitchell’s grandfather, Robert Walton. Walton passed away in June. He and the other person on the camping trip, Isaac Reinwand, were named as persons of interest but were never charged or arrested.
In his statement, Klein referred to recent media interviews with Kunz and Mitchell, where they criticized the private investigator.
“We, the investigators at KIC Texas, and, for that matter, the public, are not stupid. We get what you are doing. After 31 years of doing our jobs, we have seen this 100 times,” Klein wrote, “We are out of the case, but do what we told you both to do years ago. Stop lying, tell the truth, and put this matter to an end. You have an obligation to your DeOrr, your family, the public of Idaho and that of the United States.”
CLICK HERE TO READ KLEIN’S ENTIRE STATEMENT
Allen Browning, Kunz’s attorney, says he and his client disagree with Pickett’s ruling and plan to appeal.