TORONTO (CelebrityAccess) — An Ontario court has rejected an attempt by Live Nation to have charges dismissed in the Radiohead stage collapse trial.
According to the Toronto Star, Justice Shaun Nakatsuru rejected arguments by lawyers representing Live Nation and Dominic Cugliari, an engineer from Brampton, who contended that the slow progress of the trial had compromised its outcome.
However, the judge disagreed and noted that because of the highly technical nature of the case, with multiple defendants and expert witnesses, the pace was reasonable.
“The issue of how the stage collapsed, and who is responsible for that, is complex,” Nakatsuru said Wednesday as he read his decision, the Star reported.
The case was brought against the defendants in 2013, following the pre-concert collapse of staging at for a Radiohead show in Toronto's Downsview Park in June 2012. The collapse left several stagehands injured and drum technician Scott Johnson dead.
Live Nation, their contractor Optex Staging, and Cugliari, the engineer who designed and signed off on the stage construction are facing 13 charges under the Occupational Health and Safety Act.
The trial is scheduled to resume Dec. 5 at Old City Hall. If convicted, Live Nation could be on the hook for up to $500,000 per charge. – Staff Writers
