The Band Sugarland, a named defendant in a lawsuit filed on behalf of the victims of the 2011 Indiana State Fair stage collapse, has made a legal move in their defense of the claim by naming non-party entities and individuals, including the injury and death victims themselves, as causes or contributors to the accident.

According to Mario Massillamany of Starr, Austen & Miller, LLP, “Sugarland is trying to place the blame on many other people and entities, for the stage collapse”. The lawsuit Sugarland is defending stems from a tragic accident at the Indiana State Fair Grounds on August 13, 2011, wherein high winds caused a grandstand stage to collapse killing and injuring numerous concert goers and employees. In its recent answer to the complaint brought against the band, Sugarland named at least eight individuals or entities, not originally named in the lawsuit. Their response contends that those parties bear some fault or responsibility for the matter. Additionally, Sugarland’s answer and pleading denied all liability asserted in the complaint.

The legal rambling in this case has and continues to unfold following a damaging IOSHA report and investigation. Both in their legal pleadings and in the court of public arena, the parties have continued to spar over who had control to call off the concert and who had ultimate authority with respect whether the concert should go on as scheduled or an evacuation of attendees should take place. The State Fair commission has sustained much of the public scrutiny given their control over the facility where the concert was to take place.