Jackson County Circuit Court Judge Benjamin Bloom issued a stay in one of several civil cases filed against former Asante nurse Dani Marie Schofield and Asante Rogue Regional Medical Center on Monday afternoon to allow for proceedings in a criminal case to play out.

Monday’s ruling had to do with the case of alleged drug diversion related to the death of Horace Earl Wilson.

Filed by Central Point-based Idiart Law Group on Feb. 26, the case seeks $11.5 million in damages from Schofield and Asante, and alleges that Schofield swapped prescription fentanyl for non-sterile tap water, causing “pre-death pain and suffering” and the wrongful death of Wilson by introducing waterborne bacteria into his bloodstream through a central line.

Schofield’s legal representative in Monday’s hearing, attorney Chip Horner of Portland-based Hart Wagner LLP, made the motion for the stay in the civil case with Jeff Young, legal counsel for Asante, stating that Asante supported the request.

Jaime Madrigal, an attorney for Idiart Law Group, which represents Wilson’s estate, argued that issuing a stay “doesn’t really change the framework of what they will be arguing on their motion to stay.”

Madrigal said his client’s case occurred prior to the timeline under review in the criminal case.

Horner said Schofield’s Fifth Amendment rights and privileges “would be impacted by this parallel case procedure.”

“It is her conduct that forms the basis of the civil lawsuit that we’re here on today, forms the basis of the conduct — not the indictment — on the criminal side, and potentially forms the basis of 17 other civil claims in cases that we’re not discussing today,” Horner told Judge Bloom.

“And, so, the strongest factor, and the one that I would argue to your honor, weighs heavily in favor of a motion to stay, is whether or not those two overlap, and they do 100%.”

Horner told the courtroom that the 44 counts of alleged assault detailed in the criminal case carries “significant jeopardy” for Schofield; there is, he noted, “essentially no commentary or discovery that my client can engage in that won’t impact her Fifth Amendment right.”

Horner said his firm could “not do anything public with our defense until that criminal matter is completed,” out of concern that Schofield’s testimony in the civil case could be used against her in the criminal case.

Young concurred that a stay “makes the most sense, given the procedural implications for all of the parties involved and also for the court.”

Madrigal disagreed that there would be overlap between the civil and criminal proceedings, pointing out a separation between the dates in the criminal case and the dates “that we allege … as part of Mr. Wilson’s passing.”

The indictment listed acts that occurred between July 15, 2022, and July 25, 2023. Wilson died Feb. 25, 2022.

Madrigal said Schofield would “invoke her Fifth Amendment right” no matter when the civil case was to be tried and that a delay was unfair for Wilson’s surviving family.

“Mr. Wilson’s family has already gone through a great deal losing Horace Wilson, who’s the main breadwinner. … Add to that, defendant Dani Schofield, I assume, will use a lot of her resources to defend her criminal case, so then that depletes anything that we can tap into as part of the civil case against Dani Schofield.”

Bloom said he would grant the stay “because the Fifth Amendment rights that the defendant Ms. Schofield loses are incredibly significant” and could be damaging to both Schofield and Asante in other proceedings.

In addition to the civil proceedings as part of Monday’s hearing, additional civil cases filed include a $303-million suit, filed last week in Jackson County Circuit Court, naming 18 separate plaintiffs; half of the plaintiffs died during or after their hospitalization, and nine survived.

Additionally, a new case was filed in Circuit Court on Friday on behalf of former Asante patient Candi Kay Palomares, who seeks $116.4 million in damages in a case naming Schofield and Asante as defendants.

As a result of Schofield allegedly diverting Palomares’ fentanyl and introducing tap water into her system, Palomares says she suffers ongoing health problems, including difficulty breathing and walking, according to the suit, filed Sept. 6.

The suit states that Palomares cannot stand for any length of time, now has a lesion on her spleen and requires a catheter, colostomy bag and feeder tube, as well as daily assistance with normal living requirements. Palomares can no longer work and lost her job as a mobile home park manager. She also lost her home, which was provided as part of her compensation for managing the park, according to the suit.

In Schofield’s criminal case, she pleaded not guilty to all 44 counts on June 14, a day after her arrest at her home in Eagle Point. A pre-trial conference for those proceedings was set to take place Monday morning but has been rescheduled for Dec. 30.

Additionally, Schofield’s attorneys filed two separate motions, on July 24 and 25, for a change of judge in the criminal case. The pair of affidavits asserted that Schofield “believes she cannot have a fair and impartial hearing or trial in this matter” before either Judge Kelly Ravassipour or Judge Laura Cromwell.

The requests both stated that the motions were made “in good faith and not for the purpose of delay.”