Jeremy Mayfield files wrongful death lawsuit against stepmother Lisa Mayfield
By Bob Pockrass - Associate Editor
Tuesday, September 08, 2009
Suspended NASCAR Sprint Cup driver Jeremy Mayfield has filed a wrongful death lawsuit against his stepmother, Lisa Mayfield, over the death of his father two years ago.
Jim Fluharty
NASCAR Scene
SALISBURY, N.C. – Suspended NASCAR Sprint Cup driver Jeremy Mayfield has filed a wrongful death lawsuit against his stepmother, Lisa Mayfield, over the death of his father two years ago.
Terry Mayfield died Sept. 5, 2007, in what police investigators and the medical examiner concluded was a suicidal gunshot wound to the chest, according to investigation and medical examiner reports.
Jeremy Mayfield’s lawsuit, filed late Friday afternoon in North Carolina Superior Court in Rowan County, does not say how Lisa Mayfield was involved in the death of Terry. It only says that “as a direct and proximate result of the defendant’s intentional acts, the decedent Terry Allen Mayfield was killed by a gunshot wound.”
Jeremy Mayfield claims that prior to Terry Mayfield’s death, Terry confronted Lisa about an affair and asked her to leave. Within several days of Terry’s death, Jeremy claims the man Lisa was having an affair with broke up with his girlfriend and moved in with Lisa. It also claims that Lisa Mayfield squandered a loan meant to be used to build a barn.
Damages are not specified in the three-page complaint, with Mayfield only asking for more than $10,000 – the minimum for it to be field in North Carolina Superior Court.
Lisa Mayfield already has denied she had anything to do with her husband’s death as part of a defamation lawsuit she filed against Jeremy last month. Jeremy had made the alleged defamatory comments after she testified in an affidavit that she had seen Jeremy use methamphetamines.
Mayfield is challenging his NASCAR suspension – issued May 9 for what NASCAR says is a positive test for methamphetamines – in U.S. District Court. Mayfield claims that the test produced a false positive reading from the prescription drug Adderall, which is used to treat attention-deficit hyperactivity disorder and the over-the-counter allergy medicine Claritin-D.
NASCAR filed an affidavit in July that included Lisa Mayfield’s testimony that she had seen Jeremy use methamphetamines as part of the sanctioning body’s argument that Mayfield should remain suspended.
Lisa Mayfield’s lawsuit states that after the affidavit was filed, Jeremy Mayfield was quoted on television and other media outlets accusing his stepmother of being involved in the death of his father.
Jeremy Mayfield’s statements “were false and defamatory … and [Lisa Mayfield] has undergone great mental suffering and emotional distress as a result,” her lawsuit says.
Not included in either lawsuit is the police investigation of the death of Jeremy Mayfield’s father.
A Rowan County police investigation said he died from a self-inflicted gunshot wound to the chest at his home and that there were no signs of any criminal activity or foul play. Terry Mayfield’s death certificate also indicates a suicide.
The medical examiner’s narrative of the circumstances surrounding the death noted that Lisa Mayfield had said Terry Mayfield had been eating and drinking heavily for the previous three days and had been very depressed about not talking with Jeremy and that the suicide was only a matter of time.
A toxicology report from the state medical examiner’s office indicates a blood-alcohol concentration of 0.19 percent for Terry Mayfield. His body was cremated.
Jeremy Mayfield is the administrator of his father’s estate, and citing the financial burden, he allowed the home Terry shared with Lisa to go into foreclosure last year. The home was built in 2003, with Lisa and Terry Mayfield taking out the loan. It is on 3.8 acres deeded from Jeremy to his father in 2002.
Lisa Mayfield was arrested Aug. 16 on charges of misdemeanor trespassing on Jeremy’s property and simple assault against some of Jeremy’s workers. She faces a Monday court date on those charges.
Lisa and Terry Mayfield were married on the same day and in the same church as Jeremy and his current, wife, Shana, in 2003.
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Comments
27 responses to "Jeremy Mayfield files wrongful death lawsuit against stepmother Lisa Mayfield". Post a Comment.
BILLFAN50 said:
Sep 8, 2009 at 9:26 AMWhats one more lawsuit,I have lost count?
Go_29Harvick said:
Sep 8, 2009 at 10:20 AMThis sounds like it should be on the springer show.. laughs...
merri-scott said:
Sep 8, 2009 at 10:26 AMPlease, no more lawsuits from these people! It is hard enough to keep track of it! I bet that Jeremy will have a ton of info for a reality series, not a documentary.
Anonymous said:
Sep 8, 2009 at 2:21 PMThis lawsuit was filed by Jeremy in order to force his Step Mother to drop her suit against him… Anyway, if Lisa Mayfield drops the suit against Jeremy, then Jeremy will drop this one against her. What the Step-Mother needs to do is to sober up and sue Jeremy for $ 500,000 for ignoring/disregarding his Father and causing him to commit suicide. She has lost a lot more than he has through the death of Terry. Lisa has lost companionship, support, peace and tranquility in her life. Apparently, Jeremy didn’t care that much about his Father. Seems he abandoned him after giving him a little land and signing for a loan.. So where is all that evidence that Jeremy said he had against the Step-mom ? Squandering a loan meant for a barn ? I bet the money borrowed was to pay taxes, upkeep, and daily living expenses… Nothing like airing your dirty laundry, is it ?
sugar-pie said:
Sep 8, 2009 at 2:43 PMI feel so sorry for them. This entire situation, with all the hard feelings toward each other, is just plain sad. That's no way to live.
phoenix said:
Sep 8, 2009 at 3:21 PMEchoing "Sugar Pie," this really is a tragic side-show from any aspect. I don't have a horse in this race, but it's ridiculous, embarrassing, and just plain sad to watch.
freegeezer said:
Sep 8, 2009 at 3:25 PMWhy is Scene Daily running more Mayfield stories? Mayfield is out of NASCAR, this yellow journalism belongs in the tabloids. Or....has Scene Daily become a tabloid?
midmichman said:
Sep 8, 2009 at 3:31 PMLet the National Enquirer handle this garbage. The Mayfield saga is turning into a poorly written soap opera.
86elky said:
Sep 8, 2009 at 3:50 PMThe Guiding Light is going off the air...maybe this drama could take it's place?!?!?! So far the script fits!
manzytrophygirl said:
Sep 8, 2009 at 4:42 PMAm I reading the NASCAR Enquirer now? Funny, thought it was NASCAR Scene. This continuing yellow journalism about the Mayfield family is straight out of a "rag mag"!
Spacemaker24 said:
Sep 8, 2009 at 4:48 PMWhat a mess. It seems like yesterday that Jeremey was winning races and competing in the Chase. Now we have all this. NASCAR already has a strong hillibilly stigma and none of this is helping to quell any of that.
yojoromo said:
Sep 8, 2009 at 5:16 PMI am guessing they did not like my last comment, so will try to rephrase a bit.
This is not the place these type disagreements.
This is a NASCAR site relating to the races, not the National Enquirer. If these people want to read about someone suing someone, please go there and do not waste our time here.
jbbigrod said:
Sep 8, 2009 at 5:18 PMNumber 11. What is wrong with Hillbilly? I am from Wisconsin, but have always considered myself a misplaced hillbilly. Even a little proud of it.
jbbigrod said:
Sep 8, 2009 at 5:21 PMJeremy is a racer so cares mostly about winning. Number 4, that is all just YOUR opinion. You don't really know what went on, unless you were there. His father appears to have been no angel, and his step mother certainly wasn't/isn't. - - - His stepmother is the one who had/has the boyfriend. His father wanted to divorce her, not kill himself.
leftturn said:
Sep 8, 2009 at 6:31 PM....and yet 14 errr 15 people have read and commented on this on going saga. Kinda like when you see an accident scene and tell yourself you are going to be the bigger person and not ogle at someone else's misery. But when you get close you keep looking straight ahead and feign disgust with those ahead who have turned their heads. All the while you are getting a headache from straining your eyeballs to the extreme left or right. Been there. Done that!!!
crusher1 said:
Sep 8, 2009 at 7:02 PMI hope at some point that this issue will resolve itself. At one point in his driving career I thought that he would be someone that our kids could look up to, but he ruined that thought back on May 9, 2009, and it just keeps getting worse. What is the saddest part about this saga is that he and his so-called family keeps getting exposure in the press both in print and the Internet. When will the Media stop reporting about him?
wmvjr1960 said:
Sep 8, 2009 at 7:04 PMThese articles are total propaganda by Nascar, since this is their site. Notice how the picture of Jeremy appears to be photoshopped. Red sores all over his face, including under his nostrils, sweaty, gray hair, pale... He is either a total drug addict or Nascar is evil. You decide. Bottom line, Nascar is not judge and jury, this guy got no due process. Hung in a public forum... very sad.
sportznut5150 said:
Sep 8, 2009 at 7:37 PMThis is a complete trainwreck , This story just keeps getting sadder and sadder .
Mtclimber said:
Sep 8, 2009 at 7:38 PMWho cares??????
sarsie1 said:
Sep 9, 2009 at 12:13 AMAnonymous-I have seen it suggested before (probably by you) that Jeremy is why his father committed suicide-that seems rather absurd--were you part of the family? Do you have any idea (any REAL idea) of Jeremy's relationship with his father? In terms of Scene running the story-SOME of us are interested in how things are panning out with the Mayfields. If you don't WANT to read about it-don't click on the LINK!!!!! It's real easy. Don't try to get Scene to stop running the story when some of us would like to keep in the loop about it.
dcowboyspest said:
Sep 9, 2009 at 6:55 AMEnough of the Mayfield "Soap Opera"
MsMoosie said:
Sep 9, 2009 at 10:44 AMI'm sorry but I think this lawsuit just makes Jeremy look rather well....psycho. I used to like Jeremy too and really thought he had potential but he seems to have created a huge hole for himself and caused a lot of riffs and enemies.
I agree with what someone said earlier....this looks like something you would see on Geraldo or Springer. And NO, I don't watch daytime TV.
Anonymous said:
Sep 9, 2009 at 12:16 PMSARSI... What do you think this means ? To me, it implies that Jeremy's Father was suicidal over not having a relationship and being able to talk with his son... "The medical examiner’s narrative of the circumstances surrounding the death noted that Lisa Mayfield had said Terry Mayfield had been eating and drinking heavily for the past three days and had been very depressed about not talking with Jeremy and that the suicide was only a matter of time."
<http://www.scenedaily.com/news/articles/sprintcupseries/Stepmother_sues_Jeremy_Mayfield_for_defamation.html >
wencc1006 said:
Sep 9, 2009 at 2:12 PMWhat exactly does any of this have to with NASCAR??? This whole issue has gotten way
out of hand!! Enough aready!! Can we just hear
news about racing??geeeezzzzz
jupiterthunder said:
Sep 9, 2009 at 8:13 PM@7 -- JM still has an active NASCAR license so he is still in NASCAR.
----
Did anyone notice that the date of the filing was as close as he could get to the anniversary of Terry's death? I bet that was calculated.
sarsie1 said:
Sep 11, 2009 at 8:34 AMANONYMOUS-what do I think it means that Jeremy's stepmother blamed Jeremy? Uh...absolutely NOTHING. It could have been a little spat, maybe Jeremy ws trying to get him to stop drinking, maybe it was all a complete lie and Jeremy had talked to him that very day-are you serious? You're basing your entire assertion that Jeremy is responsible for his father's death on what this psycho stepmother said to the medical examiner? Seriously? THAT's all you got?? JUPITERTHUNDER-the date of filing was close to his death because he was up against a silly little thing called a STATUTE OF LIMITATIONS. He only had 2 years from the date of death to file the lawsuit. It's very common for lawsuits to be filed right up against that statute.
Anonymous said:
Sep 12, 2009 at 10:54 AMJeremy is an idiot.Always has been,always will be.His whole life has been a series of "poor me, what have I done now".He is just continuing his stupid ways of living, suing people.