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Walmart blames Tracy Morgan's failure to wear seatbelt for crash injuries
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(6 months later)
The comedian Tracy Morgan and others in his limousine were not wearing seatbelts when their vehicle was struck by a Walmart truck in a highway accident, the retailer said on Monday.
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Walmart Stores made its contention in a court filing responding to a lawsuit by Morgan and three other plaintiffs over the crash on the New Jersey Turnpike, which killed Morgan’s friend and fellow comedian James McNair.
Morgan, known for his work on NBC’s 30 Rock and Saturday Night Live, spent several weeks in rehabilitation following the accident on 7 June.
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In its filing, Walmart said the injuries suffered by surviving passengers were caused in whole or part by their “failure to properly wear an appropriate available seatbelt restraint device”.
Walmart said that by failing to use seatbelts, the passengers “upon information and belief, acted unreasonably and in disregard” of their best interests.
Other plaintiffs include the comedian Ardley Fuqua, Morgan’s assistant Jeffrey Millea and Millea’s wife, Krista Millea.
“It’s not a defence. They’re trying to mitigate their damages,” Benedict Morelli, a lawyer for the plaintiffs, said in a phone interview.
“Any time a lawyer says ‘upon information and belief’, it means they don’t know,” he said. “Maybe they want to play hardball. If so, I’m ready.”
In their lawsuit, the plaintiffs argued that Walmart knew or should have known its truck driver, Kevin Roper, had been awake for more than 24 hours before the crash, which under the law meant he should not have been on the road.
Federal investigators have said Roper was driving roughly 20 mph (32 kmh) over the speed limit just before the crash.
Walmart spokeswoman Brooke Buchanan said the company remained “willing to work with Mr Morgan and the other plaintiffs” to resolve the lawsuit.
Walmart has said it was sorry one of its trucks was involved. In its filing it declined to address many of the plaintiffs’ claims, citing a pending investigation by the National Transportation Safety Board.
Roper has pleaded not guilty to vehicular homicide and assault-by-auto.
