Natalee Holloway: Kalpoes want suit against them dropped

Big surprise, eh? Well, at least they attempt to justify it with a valid reason.

Story from http://www.nbc4.tv/news/11128216/detail.html?rss=la&psp=news. Photo of Natalee from http://www.natalee-holloway.com:

Aruban Brothers Want Natalee Holloway Lawsuit Dismissed
POSTED: 2:08 pm PST
February 27, 2007
LOS ANGELES -- A lawsuit filed in Los Angeles against two
Aruban brothers by the parents of missing Alabama teen Natalee Holloway should
be dismissed on grounds the case has no connection to California, the siblings'
lawyers argue in court papers obtained Tuesday.
Los Angeles Superior Court
Judge George Wu will consider the motion brought on behalf of Deepak and Satish
Kalpoe, but no date was immediately set. The next scheduled hearing in the case
is April 2.
The brothers' attorney, Kristina M. Beck, filed court papers
last Tuesday in support of the dismissal.
The Kalpoes and another Aruban
resident, Joran van der Sloot, have been the subject of scrutiny by Aruban
authorities and the U.S. media. All three were arrested in connection with the
Holloway case and later released.
Beck's court papers state that an
important ruling occurred Jan. 24, when another Los Angeles Superior Court
judge, Edward A. Ferns, ruled that the wrongful death claim of the teen's
parents against the Kalpoes is substantially different from the siblings'
defamation case against "Dr. Phil" McGraw.
"These actions do not arise from
the same or substantially identical transactions, happenings or events...,"
Ferns wrote, in ruling that both cases should not be kept before the same judge.
The Kalpoes sued McGraw and CBS Television on Dec. 13, alleging they were
defamed in a Sept. 15, 2005, show dealing with the still-unsolved case. Although
the Kalpoe brothers had been released from Aruban police custody, the "Dr. Phil"
episode suggested they gave Holloway a date rape drug and had non- consensual
group sex with her, according to their lawsuit.
The episode also implied the
siblings helped kill Holloway and dispose of her body, according to the lawsuit.
The Kalpoes and van der Sloot have maintained that they were not involved in
her disappearance and did not have sex with her.
In addition to defamation,
the Kalpoes' suit alleges invasion of privacy, emotional distress, fraud, deceit
and civil conspiracy.
Natalee Holloway's parents, Elizabeth Ann Twitty of
Alabama and Dave E. Holloway of Mississippi, filed a wrongful death suit against
the Kalpoes the next day, even though their daughter's body has never been found
and Aruban authorities have not determined if she is dead or alive.
Natalee
Holloway was vacationing with friends on the Caribbean island resort when the
18-year-old disappeared the night of May 30, 2005.
Twitty and Dave Holloway,
who are divorced, maintain that by bringing an action against McGraw in Los
Angeles, the Kalpoes voluntarily submitted themselves to the Los Angeles
Superior Court jurisdiction.
But in her court papers, Beck argues that
Twitty and Holloway are not part of the defamation case; that the alleged
misconduct by the defendants in the lawsuits occurred in two entirely different
locations -- Aruba and California; and that one suit involves wrongful death and
the other defamation.
In support of her motion, Beck attached to her court
papers a declaration by the Kalpoe brothers' mother, Kemwattie Ramirez, stating
that her sons live with her in Aruba and have no ties to California.
"Neither Deepak nor Satish has ever traveled to California, or anywhere
within the United States, for business or pleasure," according to their mother,
who also said her sons have no business, employment of financial ties to
California.
Twitty and Dave Holloway also filed a wrongful death suit last
year in New York against van der Sloot and his father, but a judge there also
threw it out for lack of jurisdiction.
Meanwhile, a motion is set before
Judge Ferns on Thursday in the defamation case.

If you know anything about the disappearance of Natalee Holloway, please call 1-866-SOS-LOST (1-866-767-5678).
Natalee's website: http://www.natalee-holloway.com/
A couple blogs about Natalee: http://blogsfornatalee.com/ and http://justicefornataleeholloway.blogspot.com/.
Natalee's father and stepmother have started the Natalee Holloway Foundation to help other American families who have loved ones who are missing and endangered in other countries. For more information, visit http://www.nataleehollowayfoundation.net/. Natalee's mother also has an organization, the International Safe Travels Foundation, which teaches safety tips to those traveling abroad. For more information, visit http://www.internationalsafetravelsfoundation.org/MS/MS37/.