Posted on 12/20/2004 8:05:51 PM PST by Land_of_Lincoln_John
CHICAGO -- Another personal injury lawsuit was filed Monday against the Dave Matthews Band connected to an incident last summer where a tour bus believed to belong to the band dumped human waste onto a boat of architectural sightseers.
The latest lawsuit was filed in Cook County Circuit Court by attorneys for Michael Scarpelli, Denise Scarpelli, Anthony Scarpelli, Lisa Panaro, and Larry Panaro, against the Dave Matthews Band and the alleged driver of the bus, Stefan A. Wohl.
The suit claimed that at about 1 p.m. on Aug. 8, Wohl was driving a Dave Matthews Band bus to a hotel to pick up a member of the band and drove over the Kinzie Street Bridge over the Chicago River 18 minutes later.
The driver of the bus was accused in the suit of dumping 80 to 100 gallons of human waste over the bridge by hitting a toggle switch and emptying a holding tank.
All five plaintiffs were on the architectural sightseeing boat at the time and were drenched with the waste dumped from the bus, according to the lawsuit.
The suit claimed that the plaintiffs suffered physical and mental pain and "nausea or vomiting and other physical or mental ailments."
The suit accused Wohl of negligently operating the bus, not yielding caution, not warning of danger before dumping human waste, discharging human waste onto the plaintiffs, and contaminating the environment. The lawsuit seeks unspecified damages in excess of $50,000. The plaintiffs were represented by attorney Edward R. Theobald.
Another lawsuit was filed on Nov. 24 by another person who said she was on the boat. Nancy M. Todor filed the suit against the band and Wohl, claiming that when the waste was discharged, it entered her "eyes and mouth and covered her hair and her clothing and other personal belongings, all of which were soaked with the liquid human waste."
That suit also seeks unspecified damages.
A suit with similar claims was also filed by the Illinois attorney general's office against the band and Wohl on Aug. 24. That suit charged both the band and Wohl with violating state water pollution laws, as well as common law public nuisance laws.
Court dates for all of the suits were not available Monday.
The incident also sparked a police investigation, but so far no criminal charges.
In October, the band donated $50,000 to Friends of the Chicago River and $50,000 to the Chicago Park District, as they continued to deny the accusations.
No one from the band could be found for comment Monday, but a statement saying the band was still investigating was released Oct. 22.
"We are not comfortable with the time it is taking us, and we have decided to take action now even though it may turn out the incident was not caused by one of our buses. We simply want to begin the healing process," according to the October statement, which was posted on the band's Web site.
If it weren't, you know who would be on the case:
"Send lawyers, guns and money....
The sh*t has hit the fan!!"
thanks, Warren.
Rock and Roll PING! email Weegee to get on/off this list (or grab it yourself to PING the rest)
You just can't make this stuff up
Yeah, but it's DAVE MATTHEWS poo. And we know his sh** don't stink.
APf
What these folks should have done is bottle up some of the "drek" and sold it on Ebay.
> The driver of the bus was accused in the suit of dumping
> 80 to 100 gallons of human waste over the bridge by
> hitting a toggle switch and emptying a holding tank.
Entirely absent from these reports are some key details
about motive and opportunity.
Is it contended that the dump was deliberate?
If so, why? Is the bridge in question equipped with an
open grid deck, making it attractive to stealth dumpers?
As with all downtown Chicago River Bridges, it's a drawbridge. It's more lightweight as a grid.
i probably would be amongst those that would wretch.
i got a pretty week stomach when it comes to stenches
that would have been just ghastly. yyyyeeeeuuuuuchhhhhh.
i can handle blood and guts. i have staunched many a squirting body part working in factorys through the years.
just keep the stink down and i'm ok.
Obviously another attempt by the Bush cartel to squelch dissent.
(sarcasm off)
They went on a sightseeing cruise and a GG Allin show broke out.
I thought that the band submitted to dna testing to prove that it wasn't them. What ever came of that?
Has the biowaste been positively linked to the band/bus and are they now left with claiming it was not "deliberate" dumping?
If it happened to me, I'd be suing.
I don't see any rock bands listed. Some sappy has been stuff, but not rock.
I agree, and furthermore, I'd be stalking the band with the intention of retaliating in kind.
Someone really needs to immortalize that act in a song...
We'll show those architectural sightseers!
Disclaimer: Opinions posted on Free Republic are those of the individual posters and do not necessarily represent the opinion of Free Republic or its management. All materials posted herein are protected by copyright law and the exemption for fair use of copyrighted works.