I gave my neighbor CPR after she drowned in her pool and now she’s suing me for sexual assault.

I cleaned out my desk that morning while colleagues whispered and stared. Word had clearly spread by lunchtime. I was home, unemployed in everything but technical status.

Rebecca was furious when I told her.

“This is exactly what they wanted. File the lawsuit, destroy your reputation, force you into a corner where you’ll settle just to make it go away.”

She was probably right, but I wasn’t going to settle. I was going to fight this until the truth came out.

Diana called Wednesday afternoon with preliminary findings from her investigator.

“The Hartleys are in serious financial trouble. Gregory’s real estate company has been struggling since the market downturn. He’s personally liable for over $800,000 in business debts.”

“They’ve mortgaged their house twice and they’re three months behind on payments. The bank sent a foreclosure notice last month.”

My mind reeled.

“So this is about money? They’re hoping I’ll settle or that my insurance will pay them?”

Diana’s voice was careful.

“That’s the logical conclusion. But there’s something else. Vanessa filed for a restraining order against Gregory two weeks ago, claiming he’d been verbally abusive and threatening. She withdrew it after three days, but it was filed.”

I asked what that meant. Diana said she wasn’t sure yet, but it suggested serious marital problems.

“People under extreme stress do desperate things. Maybe Gregory pressured Vanessa to file the lawsuit. Maybe he’s controlling her, or maybe she genuinely believes something inappropriate happened and he’s encouraging that belief.”

She said she was going to subpoena Vanessa’s medical records from the hospital and interview the paramedics who responded that day.

“We need their testimony that you performed CPR correctly and potentially saved her life. That’s our strongest defense.”

Over the next two weeks, Diana built our case methodically. She obtained statements from both paramedics who’d been on scene.

They confirmed I’d been performing proper CPR technique when they arrived and that Vanessa had been in cardiac arrest. Without my intervention, she would have died.

Diana got the 911 recording officially entered into evidence. She hired a CPR instructor to review my actions and provide expert testimony that everything I’d done was medically appropriate and necessary.

She filed a motion to dismiss based on Good Samaritan immunity and included a comprehensive brief arguing that I was protected by law from any liability. But Vanessa’s attorney, a personal injury lawyer named Russell Kemp, filed an opposition.

He claimed Good Samaritan laws didn’t apply in cases of sexual assault. His argument was that I’d used the medical emergency as cover to commit assault, therefore I wasn’t acting in good faith.

It was a twisted logic that made me sick to read. The hearing on our motion to dismiss was scheduled for six weeks out.

In the meantime, discovery began. Kemp demanded depositions from both Rebecca and me.

He wanted medical records, employment records, and any communication I’d ever had with Vanessa. Diana fought the more invasive requests, but some were granted.

My deposition was scheduled first. Diana prepared me extensively.

“Kemp is going to try to rattle you, make you seem defensive or hiding something. Stay calm, answer only what’s asked, and don’t volunteer information.”

The Confrontation in the Courtroom

The deposition took place in Kemp’s conference room downtown. He was a man in his 60s with an aggressive demeanor and a strategy that became immediately clear.

He wanted to make me look like a predator.

“Mr. Brennan, how often did you watch Vanessa Hartley swim in her pool?”

I stared at him.

“I didn’t watch her. I was her neighbor. Sometimes I’d see her in her backyard when I was in mine. That’s what happens when you live next door to someone.”

Kemp made a note.

“But you were aware she swam regularly. You knew her schedule.”

I told him I didn’t know her schedule. I’d seen her in her pool occasionally over the years, the same way I’d see her getting her mail or watering plants.

Kemp leaned forward.

“Did you find Vanessa attractive?”

Diana objected immediately on the grounds of relevance. Kemp smiled.

“Goes to motive. If Mr. Brennan had sexual interest in my client, that would explain why he used the CPR situation to assault her.”

I felt my face flush with anger, but kept my voice level.

“I never had any sexual interest in Vanessa. I barely knew her. I’m happily married.”

Kemp continued this line of questioning for 20 minutes, trying to establish I’d been obsessed with Vanessa, watching her, and looking for opportunities to be alone with her. Every question was designed to make normal neighbor interactions seem sinister.

When he asked about the actual CPR, his questions became even more aggressive.

“Why did you place your hand so low on her chest?”

I explained that proper CPR technique requires hand placement on the lower half of the sternum, exactly where I’d been taught. Kemp pulled out an anatomy diagram.

“But the lower sternum is very close to breast tissue, isn’t it?”

Diana objected again, but Kemp pushed forward.

“Did you feel Vanessa’s breasts while performing compressions?”

I took a breath, forcing myself to stay calm.

“Chest compressions require significant force. My hands were on her sternum. I was focused on trying to restart her heart, not on anything sexual.”

Kemp made notes.

“But you didn’t use any kind of barrier or cloth between your hands and her body.”

I told him there was no time to find a cloth. She was dying, and every second mattered.

Kemp suggested I could have waited for paramedics rather than touching her at all. Diana cut in sharply.

“Are you seriously suggesting he should have let her drown to avoid this accusation?”

Kemp shrugged.

“I’m suggesting there were options besides placing his hands directly on my client’s chest.”

The deposition lasted four hours. By the end, I was exhausted and demoralized.

Kemp had made saving someone’s life sound like assault. Diana told me afterward that it had actually gone well.

“He’s got nothing. Every question he asked just highlighted that you did everything right. But yes, he’s going to spin it in the worst possible light. That’s his job.”

Rebecca’s deposition the following week was similar. Kemp tried to suggest she’d covered for me and that as my wife she’d lie to protect me.

Rebecca shut him down coldly, using her medical background to explain exactly why every action I’d taken was appropriate and necessary.

“I’m a trauma nurse,” she told Kemp.

“I’ve performed CPR dozens of times. My husband did everything by the book. Your client would be dead without him.”

Two weeks before the hearing on our motion to dismiss, Diana’s investigator uncovered something significant. Gregory Hartley had been researching personal injury attorneys three days after Vanessa’s accident, before she’d even been released from the hospital.

His internet search history, obtained through a subpoena, showed queries for “Good Samaritan lawsuit,” “sue neighbor for medical treatment,” and “CPR assault claims.” Diana showed me the evidence in her office.