Wave Wire Services
SANTA MONICA — The two sisters of a man who survived two overdoses from drugs allegedly supplied by Ed Buck, but who died of drug intoxication before his civil suit against the former Democratic donor could get to trial, have dropped their lawsuit against the imprisoned defendant.
The 71-year-old Buck was convicted in federal court in 2021 of the overdose deaths of two Black men other than the late Dane Brown in Buck’s West Hollywood apartment. Brown originally filed the lawsuit, alleging sexual battery, assault, hate violence, negligence, intentional infliction of emotional distress and human trafficking.
However, Brown, 43, was found dead on a South Los Angeles sidewalk in November 2024. His sisters, Gloria Honeycutt and Denise Brown, stepped in as plaintiffs in the Santa Monica Superior Court lawsuit after their brother’s death. The siblings’ attorneys filed court papers with Judge Susan Bryant-Deason on May 4 asking that the lawsuit be dropped “with prejudice,” meaning it cannot be refiled.
The court papers do not state whether a settlement was reached or if the sisters are not pursuing the case for other reasons.
Dane Brown and Buck met on the Adam4Adam website in June 2019 and for the next two months Buck often sent a ride-hailing vehicle to a hotel in Skid Row where the plaintiff then lived to bring him to Buck’s residence, the suit stated.
After arriving at Buck’s apartment for the first visit, the two engaged in sex and Buck provided methamphetamine to Brown to smoke and to use intravenously, the suit stated. Buck continued to provide the drug to Brown as he stayed in Buck’s apartment from July through September 2019, the suit stated.
Buck, who allegedly sought out Brown because he is Black and gay, also forced him to watch pornography, according to the suit.
Buck intravenously injected methamphetamine into Brown on Sept. 4, 2019, and again a week later, causing Brown to overdose both times and require hospitalization on each occasion, the suit stated.
During the second incident, Buck also gave Brown the “date rape” drug gamma hydroxybutyrate, also known as GHB, the suit alleged. Buck refused to call an ambulance, so Brown walked across the street to a service station, where an employee and a passerby called 911 on his behalf, according to the suit brought in September 2021.
Brown survived both overdoses and testified against Buck during a trial in U.S. District Court, where in July 2021 a jury found Buck guilty of committing all nine crimes for which he was charged, including two counts of distribution of methamphetamine resulting in death. Buck was sentenced to 30 years in federal prison in April 2022.
Buck once was a candidate for a seat on the West Hollywood City Council. He donated more than $500,000 to political candidates and causes, most of them associated with the Democratic Party.
