Federal Court Rejects Entertainment Companies'Liability for High School Shootings; Chicago...

Entertainment Editors

CHICAGO--(ENTERTAINMENT WIRE)--April 7, 2000

In the wake of school killings that have shocked the nation, a federal judge has ruled that the entertainment industry is not responsible for the actions of a 14-year-old boy who went on a shooting spree at Heath High School in Paducah, Kentucky.

The Court's dismissal was in response to motions to dismiss, the first of which was filed by lead defense attorneys Gerald O. Sweeney, Jr. and John T. Williams, partners in the Chicago-based law firm Lord, Bissell & Brook. Sweeney and Williams represented one of the video game defendants.

U. S. District Court Judge Edward H. Johnstone dismissed a $130 million lawsuit against 25 entertainment companies, ruling that the companies could not foresee Michael Carneal's actions and had no legal duty to prevent them. Carneal killed three of his classmates and wounded five others on December 1, 1997.

The Court stated "[t]ragedies such as this simply defy rational explanation, and courts should not pretend otherwise". "The dismissal of this lawsuit recognizes the complexity of the issues," Sweeney stated. Williams added, "It is also a rejection of the trend to associate the content of entertainment products with irrational violent behavior."

Sweeney and Williams represent a variety of entertainment companies and specialize in copyright, trademark, commercial and tort litigation.

Lord, Bissell & Brook is a Chicago-based, full-service law firm founded in 1914. It now includes 300+ lawyers serving national and international clients from offices in Chicago, Los Angeles, Atlanta, New York, and Rockford, Illinois.