SHORELINE, Wash. — Jan Myers, the 72-year-old Shoreline woman charged with a hate crime for harassing her Vietnamese neighbor, has agreed to sell her home and move as part of a civil settlement with the victim and her family.
In August 2021, attorneys for Thi Pham and her husband Bill Healy filed a lawsuit against Myers after they said she had been harassing and threatening them continuously, some instances were caught on camera.
In April 2021, Pham said she was working in her garden when Myers started harassing her. Pham grabbed her cellphone and began recording, catching Myers say, “You’re not going to live very long.”
Healy said Myers even exposed herself to Pham and their 2-year-old son.
Pham told KING 5 when the lawsuit was filed that she didn’t feel safe in her home. Healy called the harassment “devastating.”
Pham and Healy’s attorneys announced the civil settlement on Thursday during a press conference, saying it was more than a victory for Pham but a victory for every victim of racial harassment who now know that they have a way to seek civil action against their harassers.
“We need to make the people who are harassing people because of their race pay and make them pay the victim,” attorney Jeffery Campiche said
The settlement Myers and Pham agreed to states that Myers must try her best to sell her home in the next six months and pay Pham $45,000 from the sale of the home.
If Myers fails to sell the home and move, the lawsuit will move forward and potentially be decided by a jury, Campiche said.
“I am happy that I can safely live in my home without racial harassment,” Pham said. “We hope Jan Myers follow through the agreement and move quickly.”
Meanwhile, Myers also faces criminal charges for which there is a case scheduling hearing set for April 25. Barring any delays or changes, the trial is tentatively set to begin on June 8.