Yesterday, when I stuck my hand into our mailbox, I discovered a large envelope from the Oregon Justice department labeled “Private and Confidential” addressed to my wife.
It seems she, along with several other people and the State of Oregon, is named in a lawsuit over events that happened over 4 years ago while we were living outside Portland.
It was a surreal experience to read over the documents included with the summons with her. You hear about lawsuits and watch them as drama on television, but it is an entirely different thing when your wife’s name is listed as a defendant.
Over the course of the evening, and again this morning, we had several conversations about this situation. Mostly she was trying to remember what had happened and when. On my own I tried to remember what specifically I was working on 4 years ago, and other than using my resume to provide some detail, I can’t remember.
Our feelings have naturally run from gloomy to cautiously optimistic. As an employee she is covered by the State and the Attorney General will defend her. It appears that our liability is minimal in this instance. Still it is sobering to think that dimly remember events that may or may not have occurred why she was employed at that agency may impact our lives today.
I think we have talked through most of our fear about this, but we are still both somewhat apprehensive. Will she get called to testify, will she be contacted at all? If this blows over will we be notified? You want to call people and ask questions but at the same time you don’t want any more notice brought to yourself because you just don’t know what is going to happen.
In the end I think this will be okay. For today it is scary and somewhat unsettling.