A confidential settlement approved by a federal judge ends a lawsuit against Tony Stewart and allows him to avoid a trial where jurors would have determined if the Columbus resident should be liable for the death of another racecar driver.
United States District Judge David N. Hurd accepted the settlement in the wrongful death lawsuit Thursday afternoon during a hearing in Utica, New York, the state’s Northern District court. Details of the agreement were not divulged.
Stewart, a three-time NASCAR champion and current NASCAR team co-owner, and the parents of Kevin Ward Jr. had notified the court April 2 that a settlement had been reached and that a scheduled May 7 jury trial would not be needed.
Hurd said the case would be dismissed once procedures regarding the estate of the victim were finalized.
Ward’s mother, Pamela Ward, made it clear to the judge that she was not satisfied.
“I wanted to have a trial so he (Stewart) could be held accountable,” Pamela Ward said, adding that the cost of a trial would have been beyond the family’s means. “That was my goal.”
Stewart declined to comment after the hearing.
Fatal crash
Stewart, now 46, of Columbus, and Ward competed in an Empire Super Sprints race Aug. 9, 2014, at Canandaigua (New York) Motorsports Park, where Stewart’s car struck and killed the 20-year-old Ward.
Ward spun and crashed after contact with Stewart’s car. He climbed out of the open-wheel car while the race was under caution and began walking down the dimly lit track in an apparent attempt to confront Stewart. One car appeared to swerve to avoid Ward, but he was struck by the back right tire of Stewart’s car and died of blunt force trauma.
In September 2014, a 23-person grand jury in Ontario County, New York, declined to indict Stewart on either of two charges: manslaughter in the second degree and criminally negligent homicide.
The grand jury heard testimony from more than two dozen witnesses, including accident reconstruction experts and drivers, and looked at photographs and video of the race. Two videos were viewed and enhanced, frames were isolated and viewed at different speeds and finally overlaid with grids and data. The panel decided Stewart had done nothing wrong and declined to bring charges.
Stewart spent three weeks in seclusion at his Indiana home after Ward’s death and described those weeks as the darkest of his life.
Assessing blame
Kevin Ward Sr. and Pamela Ward filed the lawsuit Aug. 4, 2015, and said they blame Stewart for the death of their son. They sought unspecified damages.
The parents claim that Stewart’s intent to drive toward and scare their son went awry and that he is liable. Stewart claims that Ward, who it was determined had marijuana in his system, created a dangerous situation that Stewart couldn’t avoid when Ward exited his car and walked toward Stewart’s car.
Both parties had hoped Thursday’s in-person settlement would not be necessary. They asked the court to call off the hearing because a confidential settlement had been reached, according to a court document filed Tuesday. Both parties argued that court approval wasn’t needed for the settlement agreement, expressed concern that a hearing would reveal confidential information about the settlement and would cause inconveniences and additional costs.
Hurd denied their request Wednesday.
“The attorneys have completely missed the point. The purpose of the hearing is not to approve the settlement or to reveal any confidential information. In view of the history of the case, it is to determine on the record if a binding, signed settlement agreement, general release, and stipulation of dismissal have been made,” Hurd wrote.
Also Wednesday, Brian D. Gwitt, an attorney for Stewart, filed a letter with the court asking permission for Stewart to not attend the hearing in person and participate remotely by telephone. Gwitt wrote that Stewart had a previous commitment to host more than a dozen representatives of a race-team sponsor at scheduled events in Columbus.
“The events will run late into the evening tonight (April 11), with many of those representatives staying at Mr. Stewart’s home. This event was scheduled several months ago,” Gwitt wrote.
Later Wednesday, Hurd denied Stewart’s request and said Stewart, the Wards and their attorneys should appear in person for Thursday’s settlement.
The settlement avoids a jury trial during which jurors would have heard details of the fatal night, possibly have been shown video of the accident and been asked to determine if Stewart was liable or Ward created an unavoidable situation.
Also, the settlement concludes a case in which two mediation sessions and a settlement conference last year failed to resolve, according to court documents.
Stewart previously asked the court that claims of wrongful death and negligence, conscious pain and suffering, and terror be dismissed in the lawsuit filed by Ward’s parents. However, Hurd ruled against Stewart on Dec. 12 and allowed all aspects of the lawsuit to proceed. If Stewart’s request had been granted, only an intentional/reckless conduct claim would have remained.
Stewart tried to have Hurd’s Dec. 12 ruling appealed, but the judge denied that motion Feb. 26, court documents state.
The Associated Press contributed to this report.
