Jump to content

A very bad day in GA


S Harber

Recommended Posts

  • Replies 271
  • Created
  • Last Reply

Top Posters In This Topic

It is standard legal practice to initially name anyone that can remotely be considered involved.  Especially anyone that has deep pockets.  As the case winds on various defendants will be released from the case.  The MUA sues CSX even though she says she was afraid to be on the tracks.  So why didn't she use common sense.  I see this day in and day out shooting depositions.  My recent favorite is the estate of the deceased suing the trucking company because the deceased drove into the rear of the truck at 65 mph while the truck was parked completely off the highway.  Go figure. 

Link to comment
Share on other sites

  • 2 weeks later...

update: civil suit " Attorney Jeff Harris said the confidential agreement had been reached with Miller, Savin, their Unclaimed Freight production company, location manager Charles Baxter, unit production manager/executive producer Jay Sedrish and Jay Sedrish Inc, executive producer and financier Don Mandrick, first assistant director Hillary Schwartz, director of photography Mike Ozier, Epozier Films Inc and landowner Rayonier Performance Fibers Llc. "

http://deadline.com/2014/11/midnight-rider-wrongful-death-settlement-sarah-jones-randall-miller-1201289275/

Link to comment
Share on other sites

update TRESPASS : " Despite settling with the family of camera assistant Sarah Jones last week, Midnight Riders director and producer are still trying to escape the sights of rail company CSX. Randall Miller and Jody Savin today asked a Georgia court to dismiss them and their business entities from a cross-claim by CSX, whose remaining involvement in the ongoing civil suit filed by Jones’ family has kept the filmmakers tethered to the wrongful death case... Now that Miller and Savin have settled with Jones’ parents, they’re arguing that their lingering battle with CSX is “essentially a business dispute” that shouldn’t be tried together with the wrongful death claim. “... The filmmakers are asking to be dismissed from the civil cross-claim alongside Unclaimed Freight and Film Allman, LLC, and also to be legally protected from answering any orders of discovery for 90 days as the court considers their request for dismissal. They’ve also asked the court to stay any and all discovery until Miller and Savin’s criminal case is resolved next spring, “to protect Miller and Savin from the oppression that would otherwise occur.”. "

http://deadline.com/2014/11/midnight-rider-sarah-jones-randall-miller-trespassing-lawsuit-1201297132/

Link to comment
Share on other sites

and this:

In a strongly worded brief filed Monday in Georgia state court, lawyers for the parents of Sarah Jones sought to maintain public access to videos and photographs of the train accident that killed their daughter during production of the film Midnight Rider in February, and to preserve the right of the lawyers and parties in the case to speak to the media.

 

http://www.hollywoodreporter.com/thr-esq/midnight-rider-sarah-jones-family-753108?utm_source=Sailthru&utm_medium=email&utm_term=hollywoodreporter_therace&utm_campaign=THR%20Race%20Alerts_now_2014-12-01%2016%3A16%3A12_knordyke

 

http://deadline.com/2014/12/sarah-jones-midnight-rider-public-record-csx-train-video-1201304819/

Edited by studiomprd
Link to comment
Share on other sites

more legal manuvering:

" Deflecting another volley in the ongoing wrongful death civil case brought by Jones’ parents, CSX revealed the timeline of the three CSX trains that passed the site of the collision before a fourth locomotive struck equipment and a hospital bed the crew had set up on the tracks in rural Georgia. (Read the CSX response here.)..., CSX downplayed the significance of the missing footage: “The inadvertent failure to retrieve the LDVR (from the third train)… is not nearly the issue Plaintiff has tried to make it.” CSX also argue that their missing train footage is not as pivotal as the Jones’ lawyers suggest, since Midnight Rider‘s film crew took their own photos and video footage leading up to the accident that the court can reference. "

 

http://deadline.com/2014/12/midnight-rider-train-timeline-csx-missing-tape-1201307435/

Link to comment
Share on other sites

  • 1 month later...
  • 2 weeks later...
  • 3 weeks later...
  • 2 weeks later...

It's weird that the loophole is "if I knew it was so dangerous, why would I be there?"

That excuse doesn't work for street racers. If one car crashes, the other driver is still (partly?) responsible. I just saw an article that somebody involved in some reality show about street racing got arrested because he was in a race and the other driver crashed and died and he is being charged with something. It wasn't while they were filming, but his involvement in the show is why it's getting some attention. I guess because it takes two people to have a race, so if both didn't get involved it wouldn't happen.

If the director and the A.D. didn't walk out onto the bridge, the rest of the crew wouldn't of been there either.

Link to comment
Share on other sites

BREAKING NEWS: the whole article from Variety appears below:

 

JESUP, GA — Director Randall Miller entered a guilty plea on Monday in the “Midnight Rider” case, reversing a not guilty plea just as a trial was scheduled to begin.

 

Miller, wearing glasses and a sport jacket and no tie, stood between his attorneys as John Johnson, special prosecutor in the case, described the case and safety measures that were not followed.

 

“Miller knew that it was a live track and there was a possibility of other trains,” said Johnson.

Miller was sentenced to 10 years, but will serve two years as part of the plea agreement, because he is a first time offender. He also was prohibited from serving as a director, assistant director or other capacity. He also was sentenced to 360 hours of community service. Miller will serve two years in custody, pay a $25,000 fine and has agreed not to direct during his probation period.

 

The prosecution is waiving charges against his wife, producer Jody Savin.

Miller was also sentenced to 360 hours of community service.

 

Miller, Savin and executive producer Jay Sedrish were each charged with involuntary manslaughter and criminal trespass in the Feb. 20, 2014 death of camera assistant Sarah Jones on the set of the movie, a biopic of singer Gregg Allman. A train came unexpectedly as the crew was shooting a scene from the movie, with a hospital bed placed across the tracks for a dream sequence. They initially plead not guilty last summer.

 

Jones’ father, Richard, sat in the witness box and read a letter he wrote to his daughter after her death.

“To me, it was not time for you to die. Who I am I to say. Life is not about how long we lived but how well we lived it, and you lived it well,” he read. He said that a life was cut short because of carelessness in the name of getting a shot. “It is not about payback, it is about drawing boundaries,” he said. Judge Anthony Harrison asked about Jones’ siblings, as Richard Jones read a victim impact from her brother.

 

“She loved her job and the people she worked with. Everyone did,” Richard Jones read from his son. “I have a hard time processing the world without her.” Her brother noted the safety campaign that has been launched since her death. Her brother noted that crews are more aware of the danger, and more willing to speak out. “Sarah has changed the industry at the cost of her own life. I hope her death is not in vain.”

Jones’ mother Elizabeth also spoke to the court, as Miller, Savin and Sedrish stared forward, listening.

“Her life was too short,” Elizabeth Jones said, as she recounted going through a box of her own books and other belongings, like scuba gear. “She was fearless.” She also read a statement from Jones’ sister, Rebecca. “I have lost a best friend,” Rebecca Jones wrote in the statement. “I will have only memories of my own sister until my own death,” she added. “There is nothing the court could do … to really bring you justice in this case,” Harrison told the Jones family before approving the plea agreement. “This was clearly a tragic accident that caused the death of your daughter and sister and granddaughter and loved one that could have been prevented. I hope that this day will some day contribute a message to the film industry.”

 

.........................................................................................................................................................................

 

Previously: The trial of “Midnight Rider” director Randall Miller, producer Jody Savin and executive producer Jay Sedrish is set to begin with jury selection on Monday in Jesup, Ga., and the case will weigh heavily on the question of when lapses in on-set safety rise to the level of a crime.

 

The three defendants each face charges of criminal trespass and involuntary manslaughter for the death of Jones. The trespass charge, a misdemeanor, carries a potential sentence of 12 months. The involuntary manslaughter charge carries a potential sentence of 10 years.

 

The tragedy has shaken up the industry, as the family and friends of Jones continue a campaign to boost awareness of on-set safety, while workplace safety advocates see the prospect of filmmakers facing criminal liability for an on-set accident as a significant deterrent to future conduct.

But rarely if ever has a filmmaker or producer been convicted of crimes related to fatal on-set accidents, even if there is a long history of safety violations issued by federal and state workplace authorities and plenty of civil litigation.

 

The most celebrated case was that of the helicopter crash on the set of the movie “Twilight Zone: The Movie” in 1982, with director John Landis and other crew members acquitted of manslaughter charges after a 10-month trial that ended in 1987.

Under Georgia law, involuntary manslaughter is defined as causing the death of another without any intention to do so, either through recklessness or during the commission of a lower-level offense like a misdemeanor.

 

Film Allman, the production company set up to make the movie, contended that they “took reasonable steps to ensure the safety of all crew present on site for filming at the incident location,” according to the company’s appeal of almost $75,000 in fines issued by the federal Occupational Safety and Health Administration for willful safety violations in August.

Legal observers of the case say that prosecutors may be able to take either of two routes, or both: Proving criminal trespass as a prerequisite to proving involuntary manslaughter, or showing that the defendants were grossly negligent.

 

CSX Transportation, the owner of the tracks, has told investigators they never granted permission for the filmmakers to be there.

 

That’s why it’s expected some of the key questions in the trial are expected to be who knew what and when.

A possible witness is location manager Charley Baxter, who has said in a court filing that he was unable to obtain permission from CSX to shoot on the train trestle and did not show up on the set that day. According to OSHA investigators, the production twice sought permission from CSX to shoot on the tracks, and was rebuffed both times.

 

In their first e-mailed response to the production, CSX said that they did not allow filming on their tracks out of concern for safety. In the second response, CSX said that they would “not be able to support your request,” and they recommended short line railroads for an alternate location.

According to OSHA’s report, unidentified production representatives said they found the second e-mail response “confusing,” and there was some conversation about whether they were really saying “no.” Yet according to OSHA, “No one from Film Allman contacted CSX for clarification of the e-mail.”

It’s unclear just how much Miller knew about the CSX emails. He has said in previous testimony that others on the crew were tasked with seeking permission. “I do not do permits, so I didn’t see the permits,” he said at a hearing in a civil proceeding brought by Allman. The litigation was later settled.

Ron Carlson, professor at the University of Georgia School of Law, said that to prove criminal trespass, prosecutors have to show that a person entered a property “knowing that he has been given notice forbidding his presence.”

 

Harland Braun, who represented Landis in the “Twilight Zone” case, suggested that the prosecution also would have to show that the misdemeanor that led to the involuntary manslaughter charge was “inherently dangerous.”

 

If the prosecution also goes the route of proving recklessness, the challenge will be to show that “you knew about the danger but just went about it anyway,” Braun said.

 

Miller already has made the point that he was on the trestle along with the crew — in other words, if he knew it was dangerous, why would he have been out there too?

“I almost got run over by a train myself,” Miller told the court at the Allman proceeding in May. “I did. I was the last one on the train track.”

 

He also testified that he did not know it was a live train trestle. “We were told there were two trains from Rayonier coming through, and no more trains that day.” He was referring to paper products company Rayonier, which did give the crew permission to shoot on the property surrounding the tracks.

A question, Braun suggested, may be who told them that there would be two trains that day, and “was it grossly negligent to rely on that person? Who gave them the information that there were only two trains?”

In the “Twilight Zone” trial, Braun said that they had to prove what caused the accident and that it was unforeseeable.

 

“On a movie set, it is a constantly changing kaleidoscope of facts, and it is hard to anticipate danger,” he said, as well as situations that don’t recur.

Nevertheless, Braun said that the defendants will have a burden of explaining their conduct.

Although there are doubts as to the extent to which the results of the OSHA investigation can be entered into evidence in the criminal proceeding, the workplace investigation did conclude that the production failed to do a “tech scout” of the site, to look at the site for potential safety hazards, with Miller stating, “It was probably a financial reason we didn’t go there.”

 

The industry’s own safety guidelines for working around railroads are in part premised on the idea that a railroad representative will consult on potential hazards — presumably, that only could have happened if CSX granted permission in the first place. The industry safety guidelines also include restrictions on objects being placed on the tracks themselves.

 

There’s also the possibility that the trial will include another key witness, Hillary Schwartz, the first assistant director who also was indicted on the same charges. But last week, Wayne County Judge Anthony Harrison severed her case from the others, and District Attorney Jackie Johnson suggested that she could still be called to testify.

 

Despite lack of convictions for criminal liability related to on-set accidents, some observers see big challenges for the defense.

 

Larry Bakman, a Los Angeles-based criminal defense attorney, says that he finds it “a very difficult sell to the trier of fact, the jury, that a train coming down a live track was not a foreseeable event.” He notes that the prosecution, in pursuing the involuntary manslaughter charge, can argue that “but for the fact that a trespass occurred there wouldn’t be a death.” He said they also could argue that the negligence as so egregious that there “is wanton disregard for serious bodily harm.”

 

“If they didn’t have permission to be there, and they were trespassing, and that resulted in the girl’s death — that is it. The prosecution has got their case,” he says.

 

That’s why there is expected to be a great deal of focus on the selection of the jury, which will come from Wayne County, Ga., with a population of just 30,000.

 

Already, in court filings, Miller and Savin’s legal team, led by Don Samuel and Ed Garland, have expressed concerns over the jurors exposure to pretrial publicity and whether they have any connections to Rayonier, the paper products company in Jesup that employs about 850 people. Rayonier did grant the filmmakers permission to be on its property that surrounds the tracks, and witnesses may be called from that company.

Carlson, the U. of Georgia Law School professor, praises the prosecutors in the case, but he also notes that Garland and Samuel represented Baltimore Ravens linebacker Ray Lewis when he was charged with two counts of murder in the deaths of two men following a Super Bowl party in 2000. Lewis ended up pleading guilty to a misdemeanor for obstruction of justice.

 

“The D.A.s will have their hands full with those two lawyers,” Carlson said.

 
Link to comment
Share on other sites

These comments by Randall Miller's lawyers actually made me sick. On a smaller film you know what is going on. This is such BS as his lawyer has turned into his Public Relations Manager. Blaming a system that has worked for a long time when you follow the rules and do not steal a location. These were the lawyers that defended Baltimore Raven's Ray Lewis on murder charges in Atlanta years ago. I guess that they had to earn their money since they could not get Miller off and were doing damage control. Reckless, just look at his behind the scenes on his other films. Threw a piano down a set of stairs that they did not tell the owner.. a child running through a field of cows.. he's says could this be dangerous.. his comments on stealing locations..sounds reckless to me.

 

Nothing will bring Sarah back. I knew her and worked with her. The positive thing is that her family did not have to go through this trial. I know this would have been more heart breaking for them.

 

Never Forget And Never Again!

 

Whit

 

 

 

 

JESUP, Ga. — Director Randall Miller may be the first director to serve jail time for an on-set accident, but as he began serving his sentence on Monday, his attorney pushed back at the idea that his client was reckless.

Ed Garland, whose Atlanta firm Garland, Samuel & Loeb represented Miller and his wife, Jody Savin, said the director wound up being a “poster child” for the problems of on-set safety even though he pinned the troubles on “a whole series of miscommunications and assumptions.”

“The way the system is set up, particularly if you are a smaller operation, you are totally dependent on a whole series of people to do their jobs, and these people come together at the last minute,” Garland said. “And then they have to operate as a well oiled machine. So the director, like the actor, is to be protected against danger because he’s focusing on the creative moment. That system didn’t work. He was put in danger. Misinformation flowed down. It broke down in little pieces. So the system needs to be better, and we wound up being the poster child.”

Miller plead guilty to involuntary manslaughter and criminal trespassing charges, just as a criminal trial in the case was set to begin. He was sentenced to two years in jail and eight years probation.

His wife, producer Jody Savin, also faced the same charges, but those were dismissed as part of the plea agreement.

Camera assistant Sarah Jones was killed and eight others were injured in the Feb. 20, 2014, train accident on the set.

Garland’s comments were a contrast to those of John Johnson, the special prosecutor in the case, who offered a narrative of the accident to the court that characterized the actions as “stealing the shot,” even if that meant putting lives at risk.

Miller did not address those comments when he entered his plea, but his attorneys told Judge Anthony Harrison that they took issue with some of the conclusions, although they did not specify what they were in court.

Outside the court, Garland said that on-set safety responsibilities do not lie with the director.

“Mistakes get made, and these should have been prevented, and because he was the director — who was not in charge of safety,” Garland said. “There are all kinds of other people in charge of safety under the contracts — he got the blame.”

“But you couldn’t have a better human being than this man or his wife or someone who is a total credit to the film industry. This is a great tragedy. He is willing to accept responsibility because the problem happened on his watch, even though it wasn’t his job.”

A key issue in the case was the lack of permission to shoot on the train tracks that day, when a train unexpectedly came as the production was shooting on a trestle. CSX Transportation said that it never gave the production permission to shoot at that location.

A question was who knew what and when. Had the case gone to trial, a key witness was expected to be Charley Baxter, the location manager who was in contact with CSX Transportation about securing permission to be on the railroad tracks. CSX sent the production two emails, one saying that it did not allow filming on its tracks and another saying it could not “support” a shoot there.

According to Garland, Baxter did tell investigators that he sent an email to Miller that conveyed CSX’s response, but the director “was locked up in the bunker trying to deal with William Hurt and other actors and trying to get them ready for the first scene. He never saw it.”

Baxter did not show up on the set that day. His attorney has said that he stands by his conduct.

Garland said that Miller would not have plead guilty had prosecutors not also indicted Savin.

“So what do you do — put your wife in jeopardy, or do you just bear the burden?” Garland said.

Miller and Savin’s production company set up for the movie, Film Allman, is challenging almost $75,000 in fines issued by the Occupational Safety and Health Administration for willful safety violations. A hearing is scheduled for later this month, but Garland said that “in all probability in light of this, we will find a way to resolve that.”

Executive producer Jay Sedrish also plead guilty to the charges on Monday and was sentenced to 10 years probation. Still unresolved are the charges against Hillary Schwartz, the first assistant director, and prosecutors were working with her attorney on a possible plea agreement on Monday.

Garland said that Miller would serve his sentence in Wayne County.

 
Link to comment
Share on other sites

In criminal court. I haven't been following the recent developments closely, but there still could be a civil suit and penalties, right?

 

Not that any amount of money will equal anyone's life. 

The Jones family already settled the civil suit last year. The settlement was made out of court and not disclosed to the public. Jim you are right no amount of money will equals anyone's life. Her family just wants to make sure that this never happens again and that there is safety awareness on all sets. They want Sarah's death to have made an impact on our industry for change and safety.

 

I really think what needs to change is the hours that we work. I have coming up a 6 day week with the Saturday call time being 6pm and wrap scheduled for 8am Sunday. Then back at work on Monday with a early call time, guessing 7am. This is what is dangerous to a crew, the long hours and what needs to change.

 

Whit

Link to comment
Share on other sites

The positive thing is that her family did not have to go through this trial. I know this would have been more heart breaking for them.

 

Well put, Whit. Thanks for the update on the civil side of things, and the family's hopes for others. And I hope you're holding up well through all this revisiting...

Link to comment
Share on other sites

I really think what needs to change is the hours that we work. I have coming up a 6 day week with the Saturday call time being 6pm and wrap scheduled for 8am Sunday. Then back at work on Monday with a early call time, guessing 7am. This is what is dangerous to a crew, the long hours and what needs to change.

 

Oh, I've been on far too many projects like that. This happens in the world of post, too, particularly for facilities that have discarded the concept of turnaround time. Haskell Wexler's Who Needs Sleep is still extremely valid, now more than ever.

Link to comment
Share on other sites

I boomed and did utility with mixer Ed White on and off for probably 10 years.

He told me a brutal story when he mixed the movie "Maximum Overdrive" directed by Stephen King. It was filmed in Wilmington, NC in 1985 during the legendary Dino DeLaurentiis studio system, (which was where "The Crow" was filmed) and killed actor Brandon Lee.

The DP on "Maximum Overdrive" was operating a shot, which his son (the 1st AC) was pulling focus on. The shot was a lawnmower, operated by a remote control that the F/X people were using, was to move towards the camera and stop. The F/X people didn't remove the blade...the lawnmower didn't stop...and chewed right through the front box/lens/and some wedges and shot all that material up through the eye piece of the camera.

Oddly the shot is in the movie, and right before the accident , there is an edit.

The DP yelling for his life, ultimately lost his eye, and was blind in that eye forever.

That movie shut down for 1 week and when they began again, the DP's son finished the show as DP. The  original DP left the show, sued Stephen King and Dino DeLaurentis for un-safe working conditions and settled out of court...anybody ever hear of this story?  Exactly....

Now...nobody died during this like the "Midnight Rider" accident....but it seemed like more of the story was who's fault it was...rather than how to prevent it again from happening??

Link to comment
Share on other sites

Join the conversation

You can post now and register later. If you have an account, sign in now to post with your account.
Note: Your post will require moderator approval before it will be visible.

Guest
Reply to this topic...

×   Pasted as rich text.   Paste as plain text instead

  Only 75 emoji are allowed.

×   Your link has been automatically embedded.   Display as a link instead

×   Your previous content has been restored.   Clear editor

×   You cannot paste images directly. Upload or insert images from URL.


×
×
  • Create New...