Kevin Ward Jr family vs Tony Stewart case set for trial
In December, a U.S. District Court judge ruled that waivers signed at the Canandaigua Motorsports Park dirt were unenforceable. In return, Tony Stewart filed an appeal.
On Monday, Judge David Hurd denied Stewart’s request to appeal the ruling on liability waivers. The same judge who made the initial decision.
According to ESPN, Stewart’s legal team argued that the dismissal of waiver could net additional settlement talks. The legal team also declared the waiver issue was critical to race tracks and series in the state of New York.
The civil lawsuit case will now continue to trial as originally set by the judge. The civil case stems from an on-track altercation that resulted in the death of sprint car racer Kevin Ward J at Canandaigua Motorsports Park on August 9, 2014.
Ward was stuck while on foot as he jolted down the banking at the approaching Stewart under a caution period. The former NASCAR driver and current team owner was already proven innocent in the criminal case years ago. This is now an entirely separate trial.
Click here to read the initial report on Tony Stewart and Kevin Ward Jr incident.
The judge ruled that an appeal on any terms should be done after the trial. He called it the more practical and economic path. Essentially, the ruling pushes this case along.
The date for the civil trial has already been set and will now continue as originally scheduled. Hearings are set to begin on May 7, 2018.
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