The filing raises new questions about firm-issued devices and warning signs before the killing.
CLEVELAND, Ohio — A new civil lawsuit has added claims against Stafford Law in the killing of Aliza Sherman, whose former divorce attorney is accused of arranging the 2013 attack that left her dead in downtown Cleveland.
The lawsuit, filed in Cuyahoga County, names Gregory Moore and his former law firm as defendants. It says Sherman’s family waited more than 13 years for answers and now wants civil accountability while Moore’s criminal case moves toward a fall trial.
Sherman was preparing for a divorce trial when she went to meet Moore on March 24, 2013, at offices near Erieview Plaza. Authorities say Moore asked her to come downtown but never planned to meet her. The lawsuit says he used text messages to keep Sherman waiting and made it seem as though he was inside the locked office. She was attacked outside and stabbed more than 10 times.
The complaint says Moore used firm equipment as part of the alleged plan. It claims he cut his cellphone off from the Verizon network to hide his location, then used a mobile hotspot issued by the firm to continue sending messages to Sherman. The lawsuit says those messages helped keep Sherman outside before the attack. The person who carried out the stabbing has been described in court records as Moore or an unknown co-conspirator.
The lawsuit also says Stafford Law knew Moore had earlier made bomb threats to delay court cases using firm-issued phones. Moore previously served six months in jail after pleading guilty to falsification tied to statements he gave police about where he was during the Sherman investigation. He also admitted to calling in bomb threats in 2012 to delay trials. His law license was suspended in 2017, and he resigned it the next year.
Family members have long pushed to keep the case public. At Moore’s arraignment last year, Jennifer Sherman described the charges as a betrayal by a lawyer who owed her mother protection and advocacy. She said the allegations showed danger beyond one family’s loss. Moore has pleaded not guilty to aggravated murder, conspiracy, murder and kidnapping.
The criminal case has continued with evidence fights before Cuyahoga County Judge Kira Krivosh. Defense lawyers have asked for grand jury testimony, records tied to other possible suspects and suppression of several categories of evidence. Moore is free on a $2 million bond but cannot have firearms or a passport, leave Ohio or travel outside the country. The court also placed limits on where he may go to protect Sherman’s family.
The civil complaint seeks more than $25,000 in damages and says the firm’s actions before and after the killing deserve court review. It alleges someone at Stafford Law tried to cancel the mobile hotspot the morning after Sherman was killed and deleted a voicemail she left on the office phone system that night. The firm has not publicly answered the claims.
Moore’s trial is set for Sept. 14. The civil case will move separately as Sherman’s family presses claims over the firm’s alleged role and Moore continues to fight the criminal charges.
Author note: Last updated May 2, 2026.