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$4.5 mil award for CGT case

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Old 10-25-07, 12:13 PM
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RA40
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Default $4.5 mil award for CGT case

$4.5 million awarded in Porsche Carrera GT case

Posted Oct 24th 2007 12:38PM by Merritt Johnson
Filed under: Government/Legal, Supercars, Porsche


Over two years ago a crash involving a Porsche Carrera GT during a Ferrari Owner's Club track day killed two event participants when they hit the wall at over 100 mph while trying to avoid a Ferrari merging onto the front straightaway. The driver and Carrera GT owner was Ben Keaton, an avid automotive enthusiast who regularly shared his wisdom on the website 6SpeedOnline.com. The car's passenger was Corey Rudl, a perspective Carrera GT buyer who wanted to take a ride. The tragic loss of these two lives brought out a great debate in the safety of California Speedway's tight infield road course, the responsibility of the event organizers, and the design of the Porsche Carrera GT itself.

While the track event participates signed waivers noting that they were aware of the inherent dangers associated with driving at high speeds on a closed course, those waivers were dependent on who was found to be negligent in the event of an incident. Tracy Rudl, the wife of passenger Corey Rudl, filed a lawsuit claiming gross negligence by many parties associated with the track event. She recently received a settlement of approximately $4.5 million. The contributing parties to the settlement fund were 2% from the merging Ferrari driver, 8% from Porsche, 41% from California Speedway and Ferrari Owner's Club and finally 49% from the Carrera GT driver's estate.
[Source: Sports Car Market Magazine]

Stories such as this one can greatly divide opinion. On one hand, two guys lost their lives voluntarily participating in a dangerous event. On the other hand, the extent of the damage could have been reduced, if not completely avoided, by greater thought and care on the part of the race track and event organizers in the areas of visibility and pit-in/pit-out coordination. Then there's the debate about how safe the Porsche Carrera GT is to drive at high speeds. Hopefully the result of this lawsuit will not scare off other event organizers due to liability, but merely cause them to put more thought into eliminating potential safety issues.
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Old 10-25-07, 01:07 PM
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Och
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It's ridiculous. It's just as ridiculous as if Mike Tyson decided to sue Lennox Lewis for knocking him the hell out, along with Don King, WBA, etc.
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Old 10-25-07, 01:10 PM
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BTW it was a settlement not an actual jury verdict
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Old 10-25-07, 01:25 PM
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49% from the Carrera GT driver's estate???
The passenger asked for a ride! why should they pay for it!
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Old 10-25-07, 01:27 PM
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driver died too so, whoever is in control of the estate (beneficiaries) has to pay
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Old 10-25-07, 03:17 PM
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Guess the crash was the fault of the porsche driver. Thought it might be the Ferrari driver's fault since he was merging.
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Old 10-25-07, 03:21 PM
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41% from Cal Speedway and Ferrari Owner's Club
So...if Club Lexus hosted a 'track day' and some people die..and lawsuits filed. = Club lexus would pay 41%...like where would that $$ come from
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Old 10-25-07, 03:28 PM
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does CL make money???
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Old 10-25-07, 03:47 PM
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We had a big thread here on the man who passed away and it spread through the internet fast b/c so many people said he was a stand up and friendly guy.

This is scary for those that plan events.
 
Old 10-25-07, 11:45 PM
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Doesn't CL have a release of liability thingy form for events? lol
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