Despite being dismissed by a federal judge this week, a civil suit against Pitt County Sheriff's Office officials is not over, the plaintiff's attorney said.

David Sutton, an attorney for Barbara Pollard, filed a state wrongful death suit Friday against Lt. Michelle Pollard. He said he also plans to appeal federal Judge Earl Britt's dismissal of a wrongful death/civil rights suit.

Sutton disputed the reasoning in Britt's opinion, issued Wednesday.

Barbara Pollard sued her former daughter-in-law and other sheriff's office officials, contending they covered up circumstances surrounding the death of her son, Stacey.

Britt ruled that the wrongful death portion of the Pollard suit was better suited to a state court than a federal one. He dismissed another contention in the case, that an alleged cover-up by Sheriff Mac Manning and chief deputies Rick Fisher and Lee Moore had barred Barbara Pollard from pursuing a wrongful death claim in the Nov. 18, 2005, death of her son, Stacey Pollard.

The July 5 civil suit alleges that Michelle Pollard told investigators contradictory stories about her role in the death of her husband, Stacey. It also claims Manning, Fisher and Moore concealed Pollard's potential involvement in the death, partly because of alleged inappropriate relationships involving Michelle Pollard and the chief deputies.

Sutton said that Barbara Pollard would have lost her opportunity for a civil rights suit had she not filed in federal court first.

The Pollard family did not suspect a cover-up until early 2007, nearly 15 months after the death, Sutton said. Navigating the state court system would have taken too long, preventing Barbara Pollard from filing a federal claim, Sutton said. The federal deadline for filing a lawsuit is two years, the same as the state's deadline, he said.

"The statute of limitations was such that we were between a rock and a hard place," he said.

Barbara Pollard's complaint argued the purported conspiracy hindered efforts to gather information about her son's death.

Britt didn't rule on the cover-up claim itself. He wrote that Pollard "does not allege or contend that she has been prevented from filing any suit, only that 'the investigation and ... cover-up by the Pitt County Sheriff's Office has placed a monumental obstacle in the path of plaintiff's ability to litigate a wrongful death claim."

Reached Friday at his office, Sutton said he was working on two new federal filings. One would ask Britt to amend his ruling by specifying how long attorneys have to file a response. The other is an appeal of Britt's ruling.

Sutton said he filed a state wrongful death suit Friday against Michelle Pollard, although he maintains that precedents exist supporting his contention that the federal court has jurisdiction.

While the state statute of limitations ended in November 2007, Sutton said the fact that the case was still pending in federal court lengthened the amount of time he has to file a state suit.

A clerk in the Pitt County Clerk of Court's office said suits filed Friday likely wouldn't appear in the county's system until next week.

William Hill, a Greensboro attorney representing Michelle Pollard, could not be reached Friday.

Scott Hart, a New Bern attorney representing Manning, Fisher and Moore, applauded the ruling Wednesday.

In his Wednesday ruling, Britt denied Hart's request for sanctions against Sutton. Filed in October, the motion claims the Pollard suit had little grounding in fact and served "the sole purpose of making a public showing."

Hart had no comment on Britt's sanction decision. Sutton said it was the right one.

"The judge was absolutely correct in denying it," he said.