Court Grants Summary Judgment - "Fear Factor" Stuntman Sees Case Tumble Out Of Court

July 11, 2007

Prominent motion picture stunt coordinator who suffered possibly disabling injuries while wrapping up work on an episode of NBC's "Fear Factor" had his personal injury lawsuit thrown out of Los Angeles Superior Court last week.

Judge Melvin D. Sandvig granted the Motion for Summary Judgment of defendant Featherlite, Inc., the manufacturer of a custom trailer which Douglas Neithercut, age 58, was working near on August 26, 2005.

Neithercut, the stunt coordinator for the now canceled but at one time popular television series where attractive participants competed in physically and psychologically challenging events, suffered multiple fractures and possible internal injuries when the lift gate of the trailer collapsed on him.

Neithercut and his wife sued the defendant on negligence and strict product liability theories. In its Motion for Summary Judgment, Featherlite argued that the trailer had been modified before Neithercut's accident and that the modification not only prevented plaintiffs from recovering under California product liability law, but that the modification was the legal cause of the accident.

Neithercut, a veteran of many motion picture and television series, was expected to make a significant loss of earnings claim at trial, on top of claims for substantial medical expenses and a significant general damages claim.

"I am pleased that the court has vindicated our client, and reinforces the well known fact in the industry that Featherlite makes products that are not just the best in the business but also, the safest," said attorney Guy R. Gruppie of Los Angeles' Murchison & Cumming, counsel for Featherlite.

Plaintiffs, represented by Browne Greene and Geoffrey S. Wells of Santa Monica's Greene, Broillet and Wheeler, are expected to appeal the court's ruling.