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July 13, 2004 - 11 Lawsuits Against the City of Santa Monica for Wrongful Deaths and Personal Injuries Arising out of the July 2003 Santa Monica Farmers' Market Tragedy Filed

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2 wrongful death lawsuits and 9 complaints for damages on have been filed against the City of Santa Monica. The Plaintiffs' claims arose out of the July 16, 2003 Santa Monica Farmers' Market tragedy in Santa Monica, CA.

The wrongful death claims have been filed on behalf of the Estate of Leroy Lattier and the Estate of Diana Gong McCarthy, who were both killed at the market. A wrongful death lawsuit on behalf of the Estate of Kevin McCarthy will be filed later this week. The 9 complaints for damages filed are for individuals injured, but not killed in the incident.

The Wednesday Santa Monica Farmers' Market is a weekly open-air market located on the public roadway and is intended for pedestrian use only on market days, with vendors setting up their booths in the street.

On July 16, 2003, the Plaintiffs were all attending the Santa Monica Farmers' Market and were walking along the street. At approximately 2:00 PM, George Russell Weller lost control of his vehicle and drove it through the market, striking and injuring at least 63 pedestrians and killing 10 people.

The Plaintiffs allege that the City of Santa Monica was negligent and reckless in conducting and regulating the Santa Monica Farmers' Market. They claim the City's failure to install any type of bollards or barricades to block traffic, and its failure to properly monitor the roadways or regulate motor vehicle traffic on market days created the dangerous conditions which caused the accident to happen.

"We hope that these lawsuits will help shed light on the issue of public safety not just in Santa Monica, but everywhere across the country where city streets are transformed into farmers' markets for a few hours each week."

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