Last Year's Indiana Fair Stage Collapse Leads To Legal War Of Words

Last Year's Stage Collapse

In the legal fallout from the stage collapse at the INDIANA STATE FAIR, CNN quotes attorneys for the country duo SUGARLAND as saying some concertgoers' injuries from a deadly stage collapse last year were "their own fault" and they "failed to exercise due care for their own safety."

More than 40 concertgoers were injured after a storm toppled scaffolding just as SUGARLAND was about to take the stage last AUGUST.

"In its response obtained by CNN affiliate WRTV to the lawsuit, SUGARLAND's attorneys denied negligence claims, calling the incident 'a true accident, or act of God.' The band also said 'they had nothing to do with the construction of the venue' and did not have the final say if the show should happen or not."

"SUGARLAND's response is a carefully crafted legal document that inappropriately attempts to distance the band from the responsibilities incumbent upon the show performers as to the safety of their fans," said Attorney CARL BRIZZI, who represents HEATHER GOODRICH, who lost her husband in the collapse. "And this spin doctoring of SUGARLAND's role in the case is both offensive and outlandish," he added.

"The single most important thing to SUGARLAND are their fans," noted band manager GAIL GELLMAN in a statement. "For anyone to think otherwise is completely devastating to them."

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