Estimated read time: Less than a minute
ST. GEORGE — A judge on Friday gave a Southern Utah family until Wednesday to raise nearly half a million dollars or risk losing their home in a sheriff's sale.
Utah's 5th District Court Judge Matthew L. Bell ordered Bryson and Ruth Seegmiller to post a $425,000 bond following a motion filed by the plaintiffs in a wrongful death lawsuit.
The lawsuit stems from a tragic incident on June 11, 2022, when Kevin Cooper, the Seegmillers' guest at a birthday party, drowned at Newcastle Reservoir. Despite safety warnings, witnesses said 14-year-old Cooper entered the water without a life jacket and drowned.
His parents, William and Tina Cooper, subsequently filed a $9.5 million lawsuit against the Seegmillers. In their lawsuit, they sought compensation for their son's projected future earnings, asserting that they had relied on him to support them due to their reported disabilities and to care for their autistic son after they were gone.
