Congratulations to John Trimble, who has participated in long range planning meetings with the KDC Board of Directors, on the following defense win. We have heard a lot about this case in Kentucky. Way to go, John! The following is reprinted from DRI's The Voice issued on May 27, 2016:
John C. Trimble and Lewis S. Wooton
DRI members John C. Trimble and Lewis S. Wooton of the Indianapolis firm of Lewis Wagner, LLP recently won a 5-0 decision in the Indiana Supreme Court on behalf of the Indiana State Fair Commission.
In August of 2011 certain stage rigging collapsed during a concert by the country band Sugarland. The collapse killed seven people and injured more than 60 others. The owner of the collapsed stage roof, Mid-America Sound, contended that it should be indemnified by the State Fair because of fine print indemnity language on the back of an invoice form that had been in use for 10 years. The State Fair initially won summary judgment in the trial court, but in 2015 the ruling was overturned by the Indiana Court of Appeals in a 2-1 ruling. After hearing oral argument, the Supreme Court reinstated the summary judgment and found that the State Fair had not “knowingly and willingly” agreed to indemnify Mid-America for its own negligence.
