The Ward family files a wrongful death lawsuit against Tony Stewart...

http://www.motorsport.com/nascar-cup/news/ward-family-files-wrongful-death-lawsuit-against-tony-stewart

Okay, this has been bugging me for a while since I read this article, and I have a lot to get off my chest, so here's my take on the whole situation...

So, let me get this straight. You decided to wait an entire year to file a lawsuit against Stewart? And you filed a lawsuit knowing the heap of evidence that's against your son? What logical sense does that make?

(sigh) Look, I realize that you loved your son, and coping with his loss has been difficult for you, and as a race fan, I never want to see any driver lose their life on the race track, and what happened at Canandaigua last year was a freak tragic event that never should've taken place. But like I said last year, a lawsuit against Tony Stewart is just gonna be a waste of time and money on your part, because all Tony's lawyers have to do is present the toxicology report stating that Kevin had marijuana in his system. Now, I realize that he probably wasn't high at the time of the accident, because marijuana lingers in the system long after its effects wear off, but from a legal standpoint, the fact that there is marijuana in his system while operating an 800 horsepower race car is an immediate red flag. On top of all that, he gets out of his race car on a hot race track, which is a no-no, on a dirt track that is slicker than snot, the lighting isn't very good, he's wearing a dark fire suit, and its almost impossible to see out of the right side of those cars. All of those ingredients add up to your case being shot down in flames, and I wouldn't be the least bit surprised if the judge throws this case out immediately, especially considering that they waited AN ENTIRE YEAR to file it, just one day prior to the anniversary of his death.

To me, this just screams of the Ward family being money-grubbing people. And on top of that, they're risking running Kevin's name through the mud, especially if the case gets thrown out, which I highly suspect it will based on the evidence at hand. I realize that you want justice for your son, but the fact of the matter is, as much as I hate to admit it, most of the blame falls on your son for what happen. HE was the one who decided to get out of his race car, and HE was the one that tried to grab onto Tony's car as it was moving. Not to mention the toxicology report and all of the other factors that I've mentioned. It's just gonna lead to the same conclusion as last year...

It was a freak accident. It sucks that it happened, and I hope that he rests in peace, but in my opinion, this is not the way to honor his memory.

As a diehard Stewart fan, it was just a matter of time until they did this. Stewart is going to settle it out of court of course, and at the end it will just be a quick cash grab. Fitting they did it on the anniversary though.

Irrelevant, but the accident is now an official Darwin Award.

Liam O'Brian wrote:As a diehard Stewart fan, it was just a matter of time until they did this. Stewart is going to settle it out of court of course, and at the end it will just be a quick cash grab. Fitting they did it on the anniversary though.

A couple of things on this.

#1: Was it a matter of time? Perhaps, but the thing that really baffles me is this: Why wait an entire f**king year to file the lawsuit? If it was me, I would've filed a lawsuit the first chance I got, but for them to wait a year before doing it? Doesn't make much sense to me.

#2: I seriously doubt that Stewart will settle out of court, simply because of the evidence in his favor. Now, if he does decide to settle and get it over with, I wouldn't blame him, because I don't think he wants this hanging over his head anymore. But part of me feels like all his lawyers have to do is present the toxicology report, and BAM! The case will be thrown out. I won't be surprised if either event happens, but based on the evidence, my money's on the former.

#3: Why would they wait until the anniversary of their son's death to file the lawsuit? I mean, it almost sounds like they're asking for the attention, like they're attention whores or something, and I think they're only doing this for a fat paycheck, which makes them look pretty petty, to be honest. They say they want justice for Kevin, but using his death to get a stack of greenbacks feels pretty slimy to me.

Hopefully, it won't be a dominating topic for the race tomorrow, although I fear that will be the case, knowing the media.

PackerMan71 wrote:

Liam O'Brian wrote:As a diehard Stewart fan, it was just a matter of time until they did this. Stewart is going to settle it out of court of course, and at the end it will just be a quick cash grab. Fitting they did it on the anniversary though.

A couple of things on this.

#1: Was it a matter of time? Perhaps, but the thing that really baffles me is this: Why wait an entire f**king year to file the lawsuit? If it was me, I would've filed a lawsuit the first chance I got, but for them to wait a year before doing it? Doesn't make much sense to me.

#2: I seriously doubt that Stewart will settle out of court, simply because of the evidence in his favor. Now, if he does decide to settle and get it over with, I wouldn't blame him, because I don't think he wants this hanging over his head anymore. But part of me feels like all his lawyers have to do is present the toxicology report, and BAM! The case will be thrown out. I won't be surprised if either event happens, but based on the evidence, my money's on the former.

#3: Why would they wait until the anniversary of their son's death to file the lawsuit? I mean, it almost sounds like they're asking for the attention, like they're attention whores or something, and I think they're only doing this for a fat paycheck, which makes them look pretty petty, to be honest. They say they want justice for Kevin, but using his death to get a stack of greenbacks feels pretty slimy to me.

Hopefully, it won't be a dominating topic for the race tomorrow, although I fear that will be the case, knowing the media.

You bring up a lot of good points there.

1. They waited a year because they basically had 3 chances to get the sympathy to go along with the case, and that was August ("We lost our soon a year ago"), December ("Our son should have been celebrating Christmas"), and right after the incident ("We just lost our son."). the latter two wouldn't work for them due not having a case down yet (I think)

2. Stewart will and it's pretty simple. Court will make him sit down and shame him for weeks about his past incidents with other drivers. It's taxing out of you time and it's taxing emotionally. Plus, I'm pretty sure Stewart wants to focus on winning right now and Stewart's a multi-millionaire... He can spare a few bucks.

3. The Wards aren't the most luxurious family in Upstate NY.... Pretty simple cash grab and will probably work for them.

PackerMan71 wrote:http://www.motorsport.com/nascar-cup/news/ward-family-files-wrongful-death-lawsuit-against-tony-stewart

Okay, this has been bugging me for a while since I read this article, and I have a lot to get off my chest, so here's my take on the whole situation...

So, let me get this straight. You decided to wait an entire year to file a lawsuit against Stewart? And you filed a lawsuit knowing the heap of evidence that's against your son? What logical sense does that make?

(sigh) Look, I realize that you loved your son, and coping with his loss has been difficult for you, and as a race fan, I never want to see any driver lose their life on the race track, and what happened at Canandaigua last year was a freak tragic event that never should've taken place. But like I said last year, a lawsuit against Tony Stewart is just gonna be a waste of time and money on your part, because all Tony's lawyers have to do is present the toxicology report stating that Kevin had marijuana in his system. Now, I realize that he probably wasn't high at the time of the accident, because marijuana lingers in the system long after its effects wear off, but from a legal standpoint, the fact that there is marijuana in his system while operating an 800 horsepower race car is an immediate red flag. On top of all that, he gets out of his race car on a hot race track, which is a no-no, on a dirt track that is slicker than snot, the lighting isn't very good, he's wearing a dark fire suit, and its almost impossible to see out of the right side of those cars. All of those ingredients add up to your case being shot down in flames, and I wouldn't be the least bit surprised if the judge throws this case out immediately, especially considering that they waited AN ENTIRE YEAR to file it, just one day prior to the anniversary of his death.

To me, this just screams of the Ward family being money-grubbing people. And on top of that, they're risking running Kevin's name through the mud, especially if the case gets thrown out, which I highly suspect it will based on the evidence at hand. I realize that you want justice for your son, but the fact of the matter is, as much as I hate to admit it, most of the blame falls on your son for what happen. HE was the one who decided to get out of his race car, and HE was the one that tried to grab onto Tony's car as it was moving. Not to mention the toxicology report and all of the other factors that I've mentioned. It's just gonna lead to the same conclusion as last year...

It was a freak accident. It sucks that it happened, and I hope that he rests in peace, but in my opinion, this is not the way to honor his memory.

I at first thought the same thing. However, I've looked around and have a theory that ended up swaying me to think differently:

Obviously, The family has nothing to gain from this case in court because:

New York law does not allow the Ward family to collect damages for their own pain and suffering but does allow parents to recover loss of expected future support and care that their child could have provided

So its pointless for the family to do it. However, not for the Lawyer. Why wait until this weekend specifically? Simple, its the last weekend for the stature of limitations and no one knows that better then the Lawyer. He could indeed had done this right after the initial ruling last year or anytime well before this weekend, but he specifically chose this weekend for a reason: To incite feelings in both his clients AND Tony Stewart. You see, this Lawyer didn't quite get the payday he was hoping for from a big Sprint Cup series star and after that likely had a hard time convincing an already shaken family to try again right after. So instead, he decided specifically to open up those emotional wounds again and thus got this going (even wrote that statement, because I seriously doubt Kevin Ward Sr would've wrote such a detailed statement while reliving all that emotion again). In effect, he knows the evidence supporting Stewart is overwhelming so he's instead trying for something that can't be beaten in court: Guilt. He's Guilting Tony Stewart into giving him money.

So basically, I think tihis isn't so much the work of the Family as it is a Low Life Lawyer who's actually feeding off the feelings of both his clients and the person he's pursuing in order to benefit not the Family he "Represents", but himself.

RACECAR wrote:

PackerMan71 wrote:http://www.motorsport.com/nascar-cup/news/ward-family-files-wrongful-death-lawsuit-against-tony-stewart

Okay, this has been bugging me for a while since I read this article, and I have a lot to get off my chest, so here's my take on the whole situation...

So, let me get this straight. You decided to wait an entire year to file a lawsuit against Stewart? And you filed a lawsuit knowing the heap of evidence that's against your son? What logical sense does that make?

(sigh) Look, I realize that you loved your son, and coping with his loss has been difficult for you, and as a race fan, I never want to see any driver lose their life on the race track, and what happened at Canandaigua last year was a freak tragic event that never should've taken place. But like I said last year, a lawsuit against Tony Stewart is just gonna be a waste of time and money on your part, because all Tony's lawyers have to do is present the toxicology report stating that Kevin had marijuana in his system. Now, I realize that he probably wasn't high at the time of the accident, because marijuana lingers in the system long after its effects wear off, but from a legal standpoint, the fact that there is marijuana in his system while operating an 800 horsepower race car is an immediate red flag. On top of all that, he gets out of his race car on a hot race track, which is a no-no, on a dirt track that is slicker than snot, the lighting isn't very good, he's wearing a dark fire suit, and its almost impossible to see out of the right side of those cars. All of those ingredients add up to your case being shot down in flames, and I wouldn't be the least bit surprised if the judge throws this case out immediately, especially considering that they waited AN ENTIRE YEAR to file it, just one day prior to the anniversary of his death.

To me, this just screams of the Ward family being money-grubbing people. And on top of that, they're risking running Kevin's name through the mud, especially if the case gets thrown out, which I highly suspect it will based on the evidence at hand. I realize that you want justice for your son, but the fact of the matter is, as much as I hate to admit it, most of the blame falls on your son for what happen. HE was the one who decided to get out of his race car, and HE was the one that tried to grab onto Tony's car as it was moving. Not to mention the toxicology report and all of the other factors that I've mentioned. It's just gonna lead to the same conclusion as last year...

It was a freak accident. It sucks that it happened, and I hope that he rests in peace, but in my opinion, this is not the way to honor his memory.

I at first thought the same thing. However, I've looked around and have a theory that ended up swaying me to think differently:

Obviously, The family has nothing to gain from this case in court because:

New York law does not allow the Ward family to collect damages for their own pain and suffering but does allow parents to recover loss of expected future support and care that their child could have provided

So its pointless for the family to do it. However, not for the Lawyer. Why wait until this weekend specifically? Simple, its the last weekend for the stature of limitations and no one knows that better then the Lawyer. He could indeed had done this right after the initial ruling last year or anytime well before this weekend, but he specifically chose this weekend for a reason: To incite feelings in both his clients AND Tony Stewart. You see, this Lawyer didn't quite get the payday he was hoping for from a big Sprint Cup series star and after that likely had a hard time convincing an already shaken family to try again right after. So instead, he decided specifically to open up those emotional wounds again and thus got this going (even wrote that statement, because I seriously doubt Kevin Ward Sr would've wrote such a detailed statement while reliving all that emotion again). In effect, he knows the evidence supporting Stewart is overwhelming so he's instead trying for something that can't be beaten in court: Guilt. He's Guilting Tony Stewart into giving him money.

So basically, I think tihis isn't so much the work of the Family as it is a Low Life Lawyer who's actually feeding off the feelings of both his clients and the person he's pursuing in order to benefit not the Family he "Represents", but himself.

Maybe so, but I just thought of something else after thinking about what Liam had said about Stewart possibly settling out of court.

Maybe that's what they're hoping for by filing this lawsuit. They're hoping that Stewart settles with them so that they can get a nice, fat paycheck, which is a pretty good possibility.

However...

We know that Stewart can be one stubborn son of a bitch, so if he decides to fight this lawsuit, I think the Ward family is f**ked, because of the evidence against their son, especially the toxicology report, which is the most damning of all the evidence against Kevin, so they're taking a big risk by doing this.

They're banking on Stewart settling out of court, but they might've screwed the pooch if Stewart does indeed fight this, and I wouldn't be the least bit surprised if he does. In fact, I wouldn't be the least bit surprised if either event happens, but quite frankly, I just want it to be done and over with so we can move on from this.

http://news.yahoo.com/stewart-claims-didnt-see-man-track-fatal-crash-000133537--spt.html

Yep. Looks like Tony's gonna fight this, just like I predicted.

And like I've said countless times before, with the evidence at hand, I don't think the Ward family stands a snowball's chance in Hell of winning this lawsuit.