People: Wal-Mart says Morgan not wearing seat belt
Actor-comedian Tracy Morgan and other people in a limousine struck from behind by a Wal-Mart truck on a highway in June are at least partly to blame for their injuries because they weren’t wearing seat belts, the company said in a court filing Monday.
The filing was made in federal court in response to a lawsuit Morgan filed in July over the accident, which killed his friend James McNair. Morgan spent several weeks in rehab with rib and leg injuries.
Wal-Mart Stores Inc. said in the filing that the passengers’ injuries were caused “in whole or in part” by their “failure to properly wear an appropriate available seatbelt restraint device,” which it said constitutes unreasonable conduct.
The lawsuit seeks a jury trial and punitive and compensatory damages. It says the retail giant should have known that its truck driver had been awake for more than 24 hours before the crash and that his commute of 700 miles from his home in Georgia to work in Delaware was “unreasonable.” It also alleges the driver fell asleep at the wheel.
Wal-Mart spokeswoman Brooke Buchanan said in an email that the company “continues to stand willing to work with Mr. Morgan and the other plaintiffs to resolve this matter.”
Passengers Ardley Fuqua and Jeffrey Millea and Millea’s wife, Krista Millea, also are named as plaintiffs in the lawsuit. Krista Millea was not in the limousine when the crash occurred but is a plaintiff because she has a related loss-of-services lawsuit stemming from the crash.
Truck driver Kevin Roper pleaded not guilty to death by auto and assault by auto charges in state court. A criminal complaint also accuses him of not sleeping for more than 24 hours before the crash, a violation of New Jersey law.
Bynes arrested on suspicion of DUI
Actress Amanda Bynes was arrested early Sunday morning on suspicion of driving while under the influence of a drug, authorities said Monday.
Bynes, 28, was stopped by a California Highway Patrol officer after she stopped in the middle of an intersection in the Sherman Oaks neighborhood of Los Angeles around 4 a.m. on Sunday.
Bynes was released hours later after posting $15,000 bail.
Bynes remains on probation for a 2012 case filed after she clipped a Los Angeles County sheriff’s patrol car and was arrested for driving under the influence. Bynes pleaded no contest to alcohol-related reckless driving in February.
In June, a judge dismissed a criminal case filed after Bynes was accused of throwing a bong out of her 36th-floor apartment. The case was dismissed after Bynes complied with orders to receive counseling.
She has publicly stated that she has retired from acting. Her last film credit was 2010’s “Easy A,” which starred Emma Stone.
The birthday bunch
Actress Angie Dickinson is 83. Singer Johnny Mathis is 79. Actor Barry Williams is 60. Actress Fran Drescher is 57. Actress Monica Bellucci is 50. Actor Tony Hale is 44. Actress Marion Cotillard is 39.