Boston - The former au pair, Ms Louise Woodward, said she was too poor to hire a lawyer to defend her in a civil lawsuit and ignored the US court action for five months. But lawyers for the former British au pair say she has now found the means to fight a default judgment issued against her in the case brought by Mr Sunil and Mrs Deborah Eappen, parents of the eight-month-old boy Ms Woodward was convicted of killing.
Lawyers who appeared on behalf of Ms Woodward in a federal court in Boston yesterday denied that her interest in the case stemmed from the desire to sell her story. Mr John Ryan said his bill was being paid by a liability insurance carrier, and that Ms Woodward had been unaware of the coverage until late September. Lawyers would not say who the insurer was or who held the policy.
The Eappens sued their former au pair in June, the day the state's Supreme Judicial Court upheld a manslaughter conviction against her and allowed her to return home to England. Because she was convicted of killing Matthew, Ms Woodward is automatically considered liable for his death in the civil case. The question of damages is up to a judge or jury.