Fans File Lawsuit against Country Duo Sugarland

Country music duo Sugarland are being taken to the court by their own fans. A lawsuit has been filed against them for their alleged negligence by the 44 casualties of the horrible stage collapse accident that took place in one of their concerts at the Indiana State Fair in August.

The lawsuit has been filed in Indianapolis’ Marion Superior Court and according to the contents of the court papers, Sugarland alongside concert promoter Live Nation, ESG Security, the stagehands' union, and others have been named as defendants.

The Stuck Like Glue-crooners have been accused of failing to provide a safe atmosphere for the fans, a factor which contributed to the extent of human loss and injuries, according to the plaintiffs.

The incident took place on August 13, when the outdoor stage at the fairgrounds collapsed due to heavy winds triggered by a storm. The stage fell on top of the front rows, resulting in deaths of seven people, while more than 45 were treated for injuries.

Sugarland members Jennifer Nettles and Kristian Bush escaped the accident as their manager took a prayer break, which eventually proved life-saving for the Grammy-winning group.

They have since issued statements and tweets of condolences in honour of the casualties and they also performed a free show in October but the victims of the seemingly unforeseeable tragedy are still hell-bent at taking the matter to the court.

The 44 accusers, among whom, four deceased fans are also included, claim that Sugarland and company should have paid more attention to the weather report of that day and cancelled the concert.

Although, in such cases, normally the organisers are held responsible for any accident, the plaintiffs have included Sugarland as co-defendants since the final decision of going through with the show was taken by Nettles and Bush.

The accusers’ legal representative Mario Massillamany said, "Unfortunately, this tragedy could have been prevented if the responsible parties had been concerned about the concertgoers that night."

His co-counsel Scott Starr also chipped in and said, "This is a devastating tragedy that has impacted hundreds of people. It is critical to help the victims pay the medical bills and other financial expenses that they have incurred from this incident."

The victims are seeking unspecified damages from the defendants.

So far, no official comment has been made by Sugarland or their reps over the situation.