Port Angeles Attorney Attempted to Banish Victim from Washington to Conceal Adultery

Before Judge Brent Basden was appointed to Clallam County Superior Court, he was a partner in the law firm Wolfley, Basden & Hansen.

While Basden now sits in judgment of others, court records reveal that his firm was engaged in a disgraceful legal campaign to silence allegations of adultery and misconduct against his partner and close personal friend, Lane Wolfley.

The firm sought to legally banish a woman from the state of Washington and silence another man from discussing allegations against Wolfley.

Attempted to Expel The Victim from State

Basden’s firm filed a lawsuit in 2004 seeking damages because an alleged mistress of Wolfley, Mary Moore, failed to move out of the state.

In an affidavit, Wolfley described Moore’s presence in Clallam County as a source of “sleeplessness, loss of appetite, irritability, worry, and stress.” Wolfley explicitly argued that Moore had breached her contract by simply existing within the state borders.

Wolfley sought a court order for “Specific Performance”—literally asking a judge to force a citizen to leave their state. He demanded that Moore be “assessed a per diem assessment of $100.00” for every day she remained in Washington.

The underlying contract also raises significant public policy related legal issues with the agreement. The covenant essentially forces her to leave town, using a private settlement to dictate a citizen’s fundamental right to reside in the state of Washington.

In addition to physical banishment, the contract forces her to stay silent, acting as a strict gag order to suppress any discussion of the disputes and allegations.

Stripping a vulnerable individual of these basic personal freedoms was all done for $3,000.

Yet Basden’s firm went to court to enforce the exile, arguing that her presence alone caused Wolfley “emotional pain.”

Silencing the Vulnerable

Mary Moore was not the only target of the firm’s disturbing silencing tactics. In 2003, the firm filed suit against Kevin Zwicky, who according to Wolfley was an unhoused man living in Port Angeles.

The complaint, filed by Wolfley and notarized by Basden, accused Zwicky of slander for “alleging, to whomever will listen to him, that [Wolfley] has occasionally been involved in homosexual acts and has molested children.”

The power imbalance was stark, with a prominent law firm suing an unhoused man. The court never decided the case on the merits.

The case quickly concluded with a stipulated order that permanently enjoined Zwicky from communicating any statement “whether truth or rumor” about Wolfley’s personal life, effectively stripping a vulnerable citizen of his First Amendment rights regarding a public figure.

Moore Fought Back

While Wolfley successfully silenced Zwicky, Mary Moore fought back. Her court filings exposed a disturbing power dynamic between Wolfley and the woman he was trying to exile.

In her counterclaims, Moore alleged that Wolfley initiated a sexual relationship with her on the very night she first sought his legal advice. She described how he “overwhelmed her with attention” and expensive gifts, taking advantage of her vulnerability and his status as a prominent attorney.

Moore argued that Wolfley’s actions violated the Rules of Professional Conduct. She alleged that Wolfley used confidential information she had shared with him as a client—details about her family, finances, and past—to later harass her.

Bar Investigation

On June 27, 2003, Kathy Rojas filed a grievance against Wolfley with the Bar Association. She had hired Wolfley in late 2002 to represent her in a personal injury matter arising out of an auto accident.

According to a stipulation between Wolfley and the Bar Association, during the course of the representation, “Wolfley knowingly and intentionally made sexual advances toward Rojas. He kissed her, fondled her, touched her breasts, touched her buttocks, and put his hands inside her clothing.”

In a letter responding to Rojas’s grievance, “Wolfley asserted that: his relationship with Rojas did not go beyond being friendly and flirtatious; he had no romantic or sexual inclinations toward Rojas; he had never kissed Rojas; he had never touched Rojas’s breasts or buttocks.”

But a video showed otherwise. The stipulation states that “Wolfley provided false and misleading information to the Association.”

“By making false or misleading statements to the Association during a grievance investigation, Wolfley violated RPC 8.4(c) (engage in conduct involving dishonesty, fraud, deceit or misrepresentation) and RPC 8.4(l) (violate a duty imposed by or under the ELCs - ELC 5.3 requires a full and complete response to the grievance).”

As a result of this misconduct, Wolfley was suspended from practicing law for three years.

Another Affair

Mary Moore’s case also revealed the potential catalyst for Wolfley’s aggressive litigation campaign. According to court records, the legal assault was triggered not by Moore’s conduct, but because Wolfley’s wife had discovered his involvement with “yet a third woman.”

Moore alleged that when this other affair came to light, Wolfley “dumped” her and reneged on his promises in a desperate bid to save his marriage.

The lawsuit demanding Moore’s removal from Washington State appears to have been part of a frantic cleanup operation, through an attempt to use the power of the court to physically remove the “evidence” of Wolfley’s infidelity from the community.

Around the same time, Wolfley was writing commentary defending himself to the Peninsula Daily News.

In his December 2003 writing, Wolfley described himself as “wounded” by “pernicious, filthy gossip” circulating in the community that accused him of “stealing money from my church” and being “involved in drug activity.”

Months prior, Basden was also writing to the Peninsula Daily News, defending the Clallam justice system.

Basden Repeatedly Chooses to Empower Wolfley

Whether acting as a Superior Court Judge overseeing a murder trial or as the L.D.S. Port Angeles Stake President supervising an annual holiday party, Basden has repeatedly chosen to empower Wolfley, ignoring concerns that would disqualify almost anyone else.

For example, on internet forums, Wolfley writes of a 40+ year tenure as the church Santa.

This arrangement suggests a troubling leniency on the part of Basden as a church leader, considering Wolfley was suspended from the practice of law after the Washington State Bar Association found he had “knowingly and intentionally made sexual advances” toward a female client, including fondling her and placing his hands inside her clothing.

Despite this public documentation of sexual misconduct and predatory behavior, Basden—who was the Stake President during much of this period—allowed Wolfley, a former Bishop, to continue serving as Santa Claus, a role that gave him direct access to children and families.

A Campaign of Harassment and Intimidation

The effort to silence Mary Moore went far beyond a single lawsuit. In her court filings, Moore detailed a relentless campaign of harassment orchestrated by Wolfley and enabled by his law firm. After the initial settlement where Wolfley paid Moore to leave the state, he instead launched what she described as a “blind and irrational vendetta” against her.

In the space of just one year, Wolfley used his position as a prominent attorney to bring or instigate several separate legal actions against Moore. This allegedly included soliciting Moore’s subsequent landlord, to file a frivolous fraud and eviction action against her.

To maximize the humiliation, Wolfley’s law partner, John Black, personally served Moore with the lawsuit while she was working at her retail job at Gottschalks. Wolfley then ensured the fraud allegations were published in the Peninsula Daily News.

He only withdrew the meritless suit after Moore’s attorney sought a restraining order to stop the publication.

The harassment extended well outside the courtroom. Moore declared under oath that Wolfley would follow her in his car, make rude gestures, and slowly cruise through the parking lot of her workplace. Furthermore, according to Moore, Wolfley would contact any local attorney who showed interest in representing her, telling them lies to dissuade them from taking her case.

An Attempt to Hide the Truth

When Moore refused to back down and filed counterclaims detailing Wolfley’s predatory behavior and abuse of the legal system, the firm attempted to bury the evidence. In March 2004, Wolfley’s attorney, John Black, filed a “Motion and Order to Seal File, and Purging the File of Defendant’s Responsive Pleadings.”

They literally asked a judge to purge the public record of Moore’s survival story. Fortunately, the court refused to seal the file.

Following the denial of the motion to hide the records, Wolfley abruptly filed a motion for voluntary dismissal of his own complaint.

The Lasting Implications

Brent Basden’s firm letterhead is all over the legal documents that sought to banish a woman from her home state and permanently silence another vulnerable resident. Basden even filed a motion in the case.

The firm of Wolfley, Basden & Hansen weaponized the judicial system to protect a partner who admitted to a “longstanding meretricious relationship” and who was later suspended by the Bar Association for sexual misconduct.

Today, Brent Basden is a Clallam County Superior Court Judge. But the troubling legacy of his time in private practice raises serious questions about his judgment, his leniency toward powerful friends, and his willingness to use the law as an instrument of silencing and intimidation.

For the residents of Clallam County, the question remains: Can a judge who once helped his business partner try to legally exile a victim from Washington state be trusted to dispense impartial justice?