A federal judge handed down the ruling to the NASCAR driver, following the 2014 death of the young sprint car driver and the following lawsuits.
The new ruling issued by U.S. District Court Judge David Hurd declares that Tony Stewart will be fully responsible for any costs stemming from damage, pain and suffering, legal costs, fees, and anything else that may or may not stem from a current civil lawsuit from Kevin Ward Jr.’s family.
The Ward family filed the lawsuit shortly after a grand jury declined to indict him on charges of second-degree manslaughter and others. He was cleared of all charges and repeatedly apologized to the Ward family through various mediums in the months that followed the 20-year-old’s death.
The pending civil suit will now move forward after this ruling which releases Stewart’s insurance company from being obligated to cover fees for legal representation, among others.
The current legal proceedings had been brought forth after Axis Insurance Co. declined to pay for the cost of legal representation in the civil case because the specific race in which the accident occurred was not listed in their policies with Stewart.
Stewart’s car struck and killed Ward Jr. at an Empire Super Sprints event in August 2014 after Ward exited his car on the track and began walking towards Stewart’s oncoming car in what appeared to be a confrontation.
Watch the ABC report below that contains statements from Kevin Ward Jr.’s family about the incident and claims from the pending lawsuit.
What do you think about this lawsuit and the new ruling?