Anais Gutierrez
On Tuesday, a Florida judge dismissed a wrongful death lawsuit filed by Christina Grimmie’s family. However, Grimmie’s family attorney says the family plans to file a new complaint.
The original lawsuit was filed against the promoter and the Orlando venue where Christina was killed last year during a meet and greet.
Refilling the lawsuit in the next two weeks
Earlier this year, the family of “The Voice” singer filed a lawsuit against AEG Live, the Orlando Philharmonic Orchestra Plaza Foundation, and a security contractor.
The family claimed that there was inadequate security on the night she was killed, and that the security flaws allowed Kevin James Loibl, a deranged fan, to shoot Grimmie at point blank range, killing her.
“What a wonderful person the decedent was. What happened on that night, and a lot about her and how she rose to fame, none of (that) matters in this case,” said AEG Live attorney, Todd Ehrenreich.
The family is suing for wrongful death and intentional infliction of emotional distress.
However, on Tuesday Circuit Judge Keith White said the complaint should have distinguished better AEG Live, the concert promoter, and the Orlando Philharmonic Orchestra Plaza Foundation, the venue’s owner.
The defendants argued that there were several problems with the family’s argument. The defendants’ motion said one problem was that the family does not name the security company in their suit.
The motion claimed that under Florida law, a lawsuit must name all parties and that The Plaza Live is not responsible for someone who is attacked on its property by a third party with no knowledge of similar previous acts there.The lawsuit also claimed that The Plaza Live should have had metal detectors.
However, the Judge also announced the family’s attorneys will have 21 days to file another complaint that addresses a few legal issues that arose from the first.
“It’s not surprising. We were going to amend our complaint in any event,” said attorney Brian Caplan, who is representing the Grimmies. “So that’s what we’re gonna do.”
Emotional and physical damages
Christina Grimmie was killed the night of June 10 during a meet and greet after a concert at The Plaza Live in Orlando. She was shot by Kevin James Loibl, who then killed himself.
In December, her family filed a wrongful death lawsuit against tour promoter AED Live and the Orlando Philarmonic Orchestra Plaza Foundation Inc., owner of the venue.
The family presented the lawsuit to cover Grimmie’s medical and funeral expenses, the support they would have gotten from her future earnings, and the emotional toll of losing her. The suit did not name a specific dollar amount.
Given the dismissal from the Florida judge, the attorneys had already agreed to some changes, including detailing the physical harm Mark Grimmie suffered because of his emotional distress after his sister was killed.Mark was actually there when the shooter killed her sister and he even tackled him after noticing the situation, unfortunately, it was too late and Christina was already dead.
They also agreed to change what damages they would seek based on her future earnings.Her family would not be able to sue for her total future earnings, but they may be able to seek the financial support Grimmie would have given her parents during their lifetimes.
“Even though her career was short, her parents and her brother were her life and she spent a huge amount of time doting on them, whenever she had a free moment,” Caplan said.
Christina’s music is still around
Last month, Adam Levine who was Christina’s mentor during her time on The Voice and close friend, paid a heartfelt tribute along ith his proteges.
Christina’s family was there and they revealed that a posthumous album from Christina would be released later this year.
According to her brother, the singer had about 50 or 60 songs with finished vocals at the time of her death. The family is continuing her legacy by releasing an album with these songs in June. However, it was a tough and rather emotional decision for the family. They decided to do so in order to thank fans for the support and honor Christina’s memory.
“There are tens of thousands of hardcore Team Grimmie fans that every day. They’re always praying for you and saying, ‘When’s the music coming out! I want to hear it!'” Mark said.“They carried her for the last six years of her career and they’re going to continue to carry her legacy.”
Back in February, the family unveiled the singer’s unheard music on the Elvis Duran Show a song called ‘Invisible’.
Proceeds from Invisible and the upcoming album will go to the Christina Grimmie Foundation that will benefit people affected by gun violence and breast cancer awareness.
Source: NBC
