According to a report from the Orange County Register, the California State Supreme Court has rejected attorney Richard Foster’s final appeal against former swimmer Dagny Knutson.
Foster was appealing the reinstatement of a verdict in favor of Knutson that awarded her $617,810 in damages. Swimming World originally reported that outcome back in August, when an appeals court in California reinstated their 2016 verdict in Knutson’s fraud case against Foster.
The latest denial of an appeal closes Knutson’s civil suit against Foster, who is a former president of United States Aquatic Sports, USA Water Polo, and past board member of the U.S. Olympic Committee. Foster, however, will still face the possibility that he may be disbarred due to his conduct while representing Knutson.
Foster is Knutson’s former attorney, and was responsible for advising Knutson to accept a financial settlement with USA Swimming following Mark Schubert’s exit as USA Swimming National Team Director. Knutson had made a deal with Schubert that would support her national team training at a newly established professional training center in Southern California just two months before Schubert ultimately left that position and the program was terminated.
Knutson was then told that only part of her agreement would be honored by USA Swimming, with Foster ultimately encouraging her to accept the lesser deal without revealing his longtime relationships with Schubert, former USA Swimming Executive Director Chuck Wielgus, and other USA Swimming officials.
You can see the original report from the Orange County Register here.
The Orange County Register contributed to this report.