Introduction
Today, June 4, 2025, marks five years since the start of the events that triggered our civil lawsuit in Otter Tail County. I was at work, handling tasks for our family business, when my phone rang. It was my mother. Her voice was tense: “Are you sitting down? You’re not going to like what I have to tell you.” My first thought: Who died?
Mom and I had a deep bond, having gone through fiery trials together in my teenage years. I moved out of the home at age 16 to escape my father’s abuse and she followed over a year later, moving into my apartment with me. I had been estranged from my father since that time. Those closest to me, including my doctors, knew that I was deathly afraid of him.
The Letter That Reopened the Past
As I listened to her now, horror filled my mind. My husband’s estranged son, Sean C. Stevenson (Rosemount, MN), who had been sending harassing communications to our family over the prior year, had looked up my father’s address, and sent him a letter falsely implying that Craig, my husband of 30 years, was abusing me.
My response was immediate: a full-blown panic attack. I told my mom I had to get Craig and hung up the phone. I began to hyperventilate and couldn’t stop. My heart pounded. My field of vision narrowed into a blur as I felt transported to another world—one I thought I had left behind 40 years ago: a world of blood, yelling, abuse, fear, and survival.
A Deliberate Plan
I didn’t know it at the time, but Sean had discussed this evil plan with Craig’s sister, Lisa Stevenson-Allen. Lisa was a Licensed Professional Clinical Counselor (LPCC) who harbored resentment toward Craig for nearly 20 years. She knew that I had lived away from home as a teenager. Lisa approved Sean’s letter to my estranged father despite—perhaps even because of—what she knew. Unbeknownst to either Craig or I, Sean and Lisa had exchanged a link to a book on Amazon entitled “Revenge” about a year prior to contacting my father.
When the Harm Continued
We sent Sean and Lisa over a dozen emails, explaining my history with my father, my panic attack, and my fear. Sean responded by printing our emails and sending them directly to my father. Sean’s actions weren’t spontaneous. They were calculated and cruel. He weaponized my past trauma for his own ends, knowing full well the emotional devastation it would cause. When I found out what he had done, I suffered another panic attack.
What the Summary-Judgment Order Omitted
When Judge Kevin Miller dismissed our case at summary judgment in June 2023, he didn’t mention any of the following:
- The home security footage capturing my panic attacks.
- That I left home at 16 and remained estranged from my father for 35 years.
- My childhood medical records documenting my abuse and extreme fear of my father.
- The results of three independent medical examinations (IME’s) – one performed on behalf of the Defense team – confirming that I had suffered severe emotional distress due to Sean’s actions.
- Over 100 deleted and unrecoverable text messages from both Sean’s and Lisa’s phones.
- The Revenge book link shared between Sean and Lisa.
- That Lisa was a licensed counselor with knowledge of my past.
- Sean’s perjury during his deposition.
- Lisa’s contradictions under oath.
The Cost of Ignoring the Record
He left it all out. Every detail that mattered—ignored.
How can parties in Otter Tail County District Court—or any court—expect fair treatment when a judge ignores nearly every fact supporting one side? The answer is simple: They can’t.
The justice system in Otter Tail County—and in Minnesota’s Seventh Judicial District—is broken. The courts have lost the public’s trust. It’s time for accountability. How many more families must be hurt before something changes?
