Ward Family vs Tony Stewart Lawsuit Continues

Ward Family vs Tony Stewart mediation session fails to reach case settlement after 16 hours – Wrongful death lawsuit continues

The second mediation date has concluded in the civil lawsuit filed by the family of Kevin Ward Jr against Tony Stewart. The case against the former NASCAR Cup Series Champion, current sprint car driver and part owner of Stewart-Haas Racing will continue.

The first mediation date was held on April 18 in Saint Louis, Missouri. The second was held last week. Dual sessions, eight-hours a piece.

After 16 hours of mediations, a settlement was not reached in the case. The Ward Family vs Tony Stewart, case continues.

Tony Stewart Sprint Car Crash Lawsuit Case
Tony Stewart 2017 Sprint Car (Photo: Stewart-Haas Racing)

Related: Ward Family Responds to Tony Stewart

Next step: Stewart’s lawyer has motioned for partial summary judgement. His case will now be heard on June 23 at U.S. District Court located in Utica, New York.

Click here to read the initial report on Tony Stewart and Kevin Ward Jr incident.

Kevin Ward Jr was involved in an on track incident with Tony Stewart. Widely covered, Kevin Ward Jr lost his life on August 9th, 2014 as Tony Stewart’s sprint car struck Ward.

The crash took place during caution laps at Canandaigua Motorsports Park. The two wrecked during green flag racing. The following lap, under caution, Ward climbed from his sprint car in an all black racing suit. He then proceeded down the banking to voice displeasure with Tony Stewart. He was stuck and killed by the sprint car.

Tony Stewart was found not guilty in the criminal case against him. That case reached a conclusion with a verdict announced on September 25th, 2014.

Tony Stewart Racing Lawsuit
Smoke

Nearly a year after Ward’s death they returned to the court system. The Ward Family filed a wrongful death lawsuit on Aug. 7, 2015.

This civil case has been delayed. The insurance company for Tony Stewart declared they were not obligated to cover Tony Stewart in a civil trial.

A loophole exposed, Empire Sprint Series’ events were not listed as part of the coverage plan. A judge agreed. Tony Stewart appealed that ruling, then later withdrew his appeal.

His appeal has allowed the civil case of the Ward Family vs Tony Stewart to resume. Two mediation dates later, the next step will be Tony Stewart’s partial summary judgement on June 23rd, 2017.

A civil lawsuit will not necessary net the same verdict as the criminal case. In most cases, it does. However, most notably, the case of Brown and Goldman vs O.J. Simpson netted very different results. O.J. was of course found not guilt in the criminal case. While in the civil case he was found guilty, awarding the families $33.5 million.

Related: Tony Stewart finishes 3rd in Little 500 at Anderson Speedway

Tony Stewart is being represented by Brian Gwitt of Woods Oviatt Gilman.

Johnny Cargill is representing the Ward family. He’s from the Lanier Law Firm, based in Houston.

I was really hoping I would be done writing about this one. It makes me sad.

Author: Shane Walters

Links

Tony Stewart
Website | FacebookTwitter

Tony Stewart Racing
Website | FacebookTwitter

Shane Walters
Website | Facebook | Twitter | Instagram

Categories

Tags