By Donna Westfall – August 8, 2021
Local Del Norte County Judge Robert “Bob” Cochran is being sued in his capacity as an attorney under allegations of fraudulent concealment.
According to plaintiff Dave Egan, the court record plainly shows Cochran disregarded the notice requirements mandated by the State of California. Because the judgment was never served, Mr. Egan didn’t discover the judgment, which is now over $1.5 million dollars, for over 10 years.
Cochran hasn’t denied the allegations but claims his concealment and non-compliance with California’s notice requirements are protected as “free speech”. On this basis Cochran is seeking to preclude Mr. Egan’s right to have a trial on the issue.
Ordinarily, a judgment without notice is routinely voided, which is what Mr. Egan first sought. But that’s when it got worse. Much worse.
According to Mr. Egan, “I went to court with a routine proceeding to void the judgment by proving it was never served on me. But that’s where it got really dirty. Judge Follett, Cochran’s old law firm partner, was assigned. I filed a motion to disqualify Follett which also should be routine. Follett refused the disqualification. At the hearing, Follett did all of Cochran’s legal research and made all his arguments for him. Then Judge Follett agreed with himself without giving me my due process right to oppose his arguments, which deprives my constitutional rights. Basically, Judge Follett represented Cochran in that hearing and made up his own law, which is the extreme of unethical as well as illegal.”
Mr. Egan went on to add that the original case against him qualifies as a “sham” pleading because Cochran took the case against Egan on the word of a multiple felon with no documentary evidence and no legal grounds for the suit.
According to one local professional who reviewed the case, Cochran isn’t denying his wrongdoings, but is trying to escape liability based on technicalities. Currently, Cochran is claiming that the concealment of the default judgment (now over $1.5 million dollars) is an act protected as “free speech”. Yes, that’s really the defense he’s claiming. The legal profession I spoke with says that’s an absurd notion and that concealment isn’t speech at all. He added that the “free speech” protection Cochran is now seeking from the court would allow all attorneys in the state of California to deceive opposing parties by disregarding mandated notice requirements.
Many readers may remember Dave Egan from when the Sheriffs raided Dave’s home, took his property and arrested him, all on a falsified search warrant (the BlackHawk Pistol series). Dave sued the County and settlement negotiations looked certain until, without explanation, Dave’s attorney quit his case, ending the negotiations. Dave never knew what happened until 2018 when he first discovered the multi-million dollar judgment that was taken against him, which was apparently discovered by the County and caused all settlement negotiations to cease. After that, Mr. Egan could no longer afford a new lawyer and he lost the case, losing most of his property in the process.
Judge Kelly Neel from Humboldt County is hearing the current case. As a reporter, I’ll be interested to see how Judge Neel will rule on the matter coming up this week on the 13th.
Mr. Egan is wondering if there are any more cases similar to his, “I’m wondering who else have been tricked, beguiled or otherwise taken advantage of via Judge Bob’s ”Creative Probate and Wills Practices?” He’d like to see others of the public come forward should anybody else have had similar experiences. If you or anyone you know or care for has experienced any fundamental miscarriage of justice at the hands of Judge Follett or Judge Cochran, or because of Bob Cochran practice as an attorney before he became a judge, please feel free to contact me or leave a comment. Upon request, all information will be kept confidential.
Judge Cochran doesn’t follow the rules of law. He follows the rules of favoritism and he will be voted out come election day!!
And the Neel survey said…???
Donna thank you for these articles. In the past I have had problems with the Sheriffs Department, and Our Judicial system I guess harassment is not to important but to me it was. And yes I wish we had a Sheriff like Cody.
PS Donna please keep up the good work.
Has Judge Neel released a ruling from Aug 13th yet ?
No. It will be 30 days before she rules.
I believe either a local guy or David Mace should run for sheriff up here and finally clean house and instill an internal affairs department. Sheriff Apperson promised he would when I helped him in his run for Sheriff but he did not establish an IA Dept.
Firstly, thank you Donna Westfall for bringing this travesty to the public’s attention. This is why many Americans do not trust their government. These men swore to uphold the law and to treat each citizen fairly. Not to exploit them for their own personal gain. What kind of sick SOB would do such a thing and who vetted him for the job in the first place? I hope this trial starts an avalanche of questioning individuals who hold themselves above the law. Mr. Cochran, your reservation in hell is confirmed.
There’s a stench on the bench on the bench. When a good defendant is telling the truth but defends him or herself from community bullies pulling the California Race Cards in their cultural favor … I personally believe the DOJ should investigate the current court employees as well as both law enforcement agencies POLICE and SHERIFFS on possible Mexican Mafia Drug Cartels Bribery. Pelican Bay Hispanic Inmates may also have a direct link into the current corruption.
Scandal in Del Norte county? Shocking I say. Dave was railroaded from the start. Ex Sheriff Willson was neck deep in the theft of Dave’s property and the violation of Dave’s constitutional rights.
Thank you Donna for bringing this issue to the public’s attention. It is a sad day in this country when we as hard working Americans, taxpayers, and law abiding citizens can’t even trust our judicial officers, much less the peace officers sworn to protect us.
Oh what a wicked web we weave when we practice to deceive. Is the moral of this saga perpetrated by the two former law partners now judges. The collateral domino effect of their consequences damage the trust of the public.
“Did Judge Bob get caught?”
Uh, yes. If it wasn’t dirty, he wouldn’t have called on his old law partner, now judge, to circumvent all the rules.
Very interesting, Id say….hmmm
I agree. I had my children taken away from me when I never got served or did I even live in Crescent City, Ca where the hearing took place. I’ve lived in WA my whole life and it blew my family’s mind and mine away with what the judge allowed. I feel like I was taken advantage completely just because the judge knew I didn’t know a whole lot about my rights. It has been a nightmare for me ever since the judge made a wrong discussion and I’m broken hearted everyday and my kids are really sad, and confused about what happened. How do I connect to you if feel like I was wrongfully convicted? Thank you for letting this be known.