BIDDEFORD — Tammy Cole, the mother of two young men shot to death by Biddeford resident Rory Holland, has filed a wrongful death complaint against Holland.
Holland was found guilty of murder on Nov. 3, for the June 2009 shooting deaths of Derek and Gage Greene. He has not yet been sentenced.
The one-page suit, filed earlier this month by Saco attorney Eric Cote on Cole’s behalf, seeks judgment for pain and suffering, compensatory damages, funeral expenses, medical bills and punitive damages.
According to the complaint, Cole has applied to be appointed personal representative of the estates of Derek and Gage.
“Plaintiff requests an award of punitive damages as defendant’s actions were motivated by actual ill will,” the complaint states.
“I want to take anything I can that has his name on it,” said Cole in a phone interview.
Cole said that since Holland shot her two sons, she hasn’t been able to work. She said she is someone who’s always worked hard to support herself and her children, even without child support. Now, she said, she’s been dependent on her boyfriend.
“I don’t have two dimes to rub together,” she said.
Cole said it’s been hard to get thoughts of her boys’ shootings out of her mind, and said there are times she can’t fall asleep until 7 a.m.
“I wake up to it. I fall asleep to it,” she said. “I can’t shut my brain off.”
Cole said she wants to be compensated “for the hell I’ve been put through.”
Cote said he gave Holland limited representation in the past, but never represented him in court. Cote ended his lawyer/client relationship with Holland in April 2009.
“I didn’t choose to continue after he threatened to kill me,” said Cote.
Holland, made a handwritten response to Cole’s complaint in his own defense, stating that the court should dismiss this case for “failure to state any claim upon which relief might be granted.”
Holland said that Cole “does not allege personally having been encumbered by any loss whatsoever,” and does not allege any loss suffered by the estate of Gage and Derek.
Cote said that a complaint, like the one filed, is meant to be a brief statement and does not go into the details that Holland seems to believe it should.
Cote said Holland’s request for a dismissal needs to be in a separate motion, and not in a response.
Holland, in his response, also states that “a year has passed since the plaintiff was aware of her punitive loss, with no notice of intent to file given defendant.”
“I’m not sure what he’s getting at,” said Cote, as Cole has six years, by law, to file such a claim.
Cote said a court date has not been scheduled.
— Staff Writer Liz Gotthelf can be contacted at 282-1535, Ext. 325 or egotthelf@journaltribune.com.
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