Brashear family motions to dismiss suit

The family of James R. Brashear filed a motion to dismiss and submitted documents in response to a wrongful death lawsuit filed by the family of John A. Mast, a homicide victim.

The lawsuit was filed in February by Robert J. Mast, the slain man’s father, along with Steven R. Mast, Michael W. Mast and Betty R. Troyer, who are John Mast’s siblings. The defendants in the lawsuit are James R. Brashear, who is charged with first-degree murder in the shooting death of John Mast, and Rebecca Brashear-Mast, the ex-wife of John Mast, according to the lawsuit complaint. The lawsuit seeks damages for funeral costs, expenses for selling John Mast’s real estate property, damages from John Mast’s death by a firearm and attorney fees.

Brashear is charged with first-degree murder in the shooting of Mast in the Rosauers parking lot in Lewston in February 2021. Mast was Brashear’s former son-in-law and was accused of sexually abusing his children, Brashear’s grandchildren, but no charges were filed.

A motion to dismiss was filed this week. That document claims the Mast family failed to state a claim for relief of damages the Brashear family could provide and the lawsuit was based on presumption, hearsay and personal bias.

A response from Brashear and Brashear-Mast that was filed in March objects to nearly all the claims alleged in the lawsuit. The motion to dismiss summarizes the main objections in the response. The documents state Brashear can be considered for litigation, but Brashear-Mast shouldn’t be listed on the lawsuit and that the suit be amended to include only Brashear.

The response also says that funds from John Mast’s estate should be placed in a trust on behalf of his children after the estate is settled. It disputes that Robert Mast, John Mast’s father, is the heir of John Mast’s estate, citing Idaho code that inheritance goes to children first and only goes to a parent if there are no children. Court documents also say that the Brashear family doesn’t believe funeral expenses should be paid for when the children weren’t invited to the funeral.

Although the response acknowledges that there was no charge and therefore no conviction for the allegations against John Mast, the document argues that doesn’t mean allegations were false or baseless, just not provable in court. Therefore, it disputes that allegations made against John Mast were false and baseless, as stated in the lawsuit from the Mast family, citing various pieces of evidence showing there were merits to the allegations, according to court documents.

The lawsuit alleges fraud by Brashear-Mast for sending an email that she was going to drop the children off for their custody exchange when Brashear shot Mast in the parking lot. However, Brashear-Mast did arrive at 6 p.m. with the children, but didn’t know that Mast had been shot, according to the court documents, and therefore the allegation is invalid.

In the response to the section of the lawsuit claiming emotional distress for the Mast family, the document states that the defendants and plaintiffs “all have trauma related to this event.” It says that Brashear was motivated by a desire to protect his grandchildren as a military veteran, not to inflict emotional distress as the lawsuit alleges.

The response also states that because a trial hasn’t taken place and Brashear hasn’t been tried and convicted in court, he maintains his presumption of innocence, which means that the plaintiffs in the lawsuit can’t claim that he murdered Mast. Without the trial, the Mast family also can’t claim the death was wrongful.

The court documents also state that there are numerous social media posts and posters of John Mast and the children around the Lewiston-Clarkston Valley. There is also a documentary about John Mast that is being used by the Mast family to promote their foundation. The social media posts, posters and documentary include libelous claims about Brashear and Brashear-Mast and is harassment against the Brashear family, according to the documents.

The lawsuit also requested a trial by jury of no less than 12 people, but the motion to dismiss asks for the case to be thrown out before trial.

The first-degree murder trial for Brashear is scheduled for August.

Brewster may be contacted at kbrewster@lmtribune.com or at (208) 848-2297.