An Introduction to The Never Again Foundation

This is the story of Patti Lumpkins and the Never Again Foundation. Patti knows she's not perfect. She always tried her best to be the dutiful daughter, the caring mother, the loving partner in marriage. Patti's husband Cary died in 1995 with complications from heart surgery. His passing was hard on her, she missed him.  She was lonely.  Jeff was a tall, powerful man who spoke softly to her.  He was a man she had met at church.  Here was a safe, sturdy man.  He charmed her. Jeff and Patti married just months after her husband's death. 

He got increasingly violent with her children...and with Patti.  He enjoyed showing his “deadly” maneuvers he had learned as a member of special forces. Patti fell into the trap of trying to please the man that was hurting her and her children. Believing that if she took the beatings he would be nicer after and somehow stay that way longer.

One night the violence turned almost deadly. Through blurs she could see blood on the floor, barely realizing the antique sitting chair had been smashed over her head. Patti had managed to call 911 from the phone near the toilet, she didn't know if anyone could hear.  Jeff was holding a gun to her head.  Fortunately for Patti, that horrendous night would end.  Patti was rushed to the hospital and Jeff was taken into custody.  Jeff was sentenced to 13-years in prison, guilty of First Degree Attempted Murder.

The personification of audacity and insult came next. In a divorce that Jeff was anxious to conclude, more than one million dollars from Patti's family trust was potentially up for community asset division.  Jeff was contending he was entitled to at least $500,000 in an equitable divorce settlement. 

Enter the Never Again Foundation. 

In 2001, Keith Perkins accepted Patti's case that would prove to be monumental to the creation and success of his newly established foundation. Throughout Jeff's criminal case she experienced many obstacles to justice and it seemed as though it would not end, she found herself in a civil legal battle to her estate in divorce. As she wandered trying to find justice she met Mr. Perkins and they embarked on a test journey together. They seemed to fit so well because there was no one else willing to take her case and Mr. Perkins was looking for this case to ultimately improve the legal system; in the end, Patti, Mr. Perkins and the Never Again Foundation benefited from the trial. Patti Lumpkins was awarded $1.25 million dollars which is the largest domestic violence settlement in the history of Arizona.

The Never Again Foundation began with the vision and drive of Mr. R. Keith Perkins to fix what he thought was a “broken” legal system. Mr. Perkins was a partner in a law firm for many years and throughout this time he was continually presented with cases that ended without proper justice for victims of crime and too many perpetrators escaping their legal convictions. As a compassionate and forward thinking man, Mr. Perkins continued to examine what he saw was missing from the justice system and tried to find a way to help those people who were lost wandering through this complicated method to finding justice that is full of loopholes and dead ends. Mr. Perkins was well aware that there was no money to be made in the business of “helping” people and that accident cases was not where his heart belonged. He witnessed many victims shunned by the legal system and denied access to laws that protected them, so he ventured out to “bridge the gap” and fix the system. This is when the Never Again Foundation was born.

Since that time the Never Again Foundation has won over $288 million dollars for it clients in judgments and is optimistic to what the future holds for crime victims’ justice and the growth of the Foundation.

The Never Again Foundation is the first and most successful non-profit legal organization of its kind in the nation. Its legal services are 100% free to crime victims and all proceeds collected through civil lawsuits against the criminals are provided to victims, or families of murder victims.  Represented victims are invited to voluntarily participate in helping other victims by donating a portion of collections back to the Never Again Foundation, giving them an opportunity to be charitable, “pay it forward”, and keep the cycle of good continuing for the benefit of others. The Never Again Foundation is widely recognized as a leader of pioneering the cutting edge of legal practice dedicated to helping crime victims obtain hope, justice, and healing.   

  

If you would like to learn more, schedule a training for your group or organization, volunteer or donate to The Never Again Foundation please visit our website at: www.neveragainfoundation.org