Gregg Allman
has been dropped from a lawsuit filed following the death of film-crew member
Sarah Jones
, her family's
Credit: Jennifer Brett
Credit: Jennifer Brett
attorney said Thursday.
In May, Jones' parents filed a wrongful death lawsuit in Chatham County, naming a slew of individuals and entities associated with "Midnight Rider," the movie about Allman that Jones was working on when she was killed Feb. 20 on a Jesup train trestle.
On Thursday, attorney Jeff Harris of Harris Penn Lowry LLP announced that Allman, Michael Lehman and Open Road Films would be dismissed from the civil litigation.
"This firm was hired by Richard and Elizabeth Jones to find out exactly what happened to their daughter, what decisions were made that led to that fateful day and to determine, and ultimately hold accountable, those who were involved," Harris said in a statement. "After reviewing the many thousands of pages of documents, and other information we have obtained through the legal discovery process, it is clear that Mr. Allman and Mr. Lehman had no involvement in any of the decisions that resulted in Sarah's death. Our investigation has also shown that, in this case, Open Road Films was not directly involved in the poor decisions that led to this horrific event and the tragic loss of Sarah's life. As a result, we are dismissing all claims against the three parties."
Numerous other defendants remain.
In July, Randall Miller, Jody Savin and Jay Sedrish were indicted after the Wayne County Sheriff's Office presented the case to the grand jury, Brunswick Judicial Circuit District Attorney Jackie L. Johnson said in a statement at the time. Miller and Savin are the owners of California-based Unclaimed Freight Productions, which was filming "Midnight Rider," and Sedrish was the film's executive producer.
Involuntary manslaughter carries a potential sentence of 10 years in prison and criminal trespass carries a potential of 12 months, the district attorney's statement noted. The trio face trial next year.
In his statement Harris said the decision to drop some defendants followed a lengthy investigation.
“In the days and months following the accident, the Jones family was unable to access most of the evidence in this case because of legal protections in place as a part of the pending federal and state investigations into occupational safety, railway safety and potential criminal and civil liability," he said. "At the same time, various parties involved made numerous conflicting and contradictory public statements about the sequence of events leading to the tragedy. The comprehensive civil lawsuit filed by the Jones family, naming multiple defendants, allowed access to extensive and voluminous evidence. We very much appreciate Mr. Allman’s and Mr. Lehman’s full cooperation during discovery and are pleased we’ve reached a place of closure with them as well as Open Road. The investigation into the actions and involvement of the remaining defendants is ongoing.”
Sarah Jones was 27. Her father Richard Jones discussed the legal update in a statement.
“The legal process is working and questions are being answered,” he said. “During a very difficult and trying time for our family, Gregg Allman and Michael Lehman demonstrated their genuine sorrow over the loss of our daughter and their willingness to work with us in the future to ensure safe film sets for all. For that, we are grateful.”
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