Streaker blames All Good festival, security for back injuries in suit

CLARKSBURG - Another lawsuit has been filed in federal court against All Good Music Festival organizers and its security providers.

This time, a man is suing the festival for injuries he sustained after security chased him down and caught him.

Plaintiff Daniel Weaver filed his four-page complaint in the U.S. District Court for the Northern District of West Virginia May 14.

The named defendants include Walther Productions Inc. d/b/a All Good Presents, All Good Presents Inc., Marvin's Mountaintop LLC and Event Staffing Inc.

Each year, since 2003, the for-profit All Good Music Festival is held at Marvin's Mountaintop in Masontown, Preston County.

In his complaint, Weaver admits to removing his clothing and running through the grounds while attending the festival in July 2010.

After running through a wooded area, Weaver says he jumped into a swamp and laid down until Event Staff employees spotted him.

At this time, Weaver alleges, the Event Staff employees "forcibly raised" him to his feet, grabbed him by his arms and pulled him out of the wooded area. They then carried him by his arms and legs to a more central location, he alleges.

He alleges that on at least one occasion while carrying him, the Event Staff employees "deliberately dropped him to the ground."

"At all times from when the event staffing employees came upon him, the plaintiff, who had been experiencing severe pain and discomfort from the time that he was in the swampy area, the plaintiff communicated to the defendants that he was severely injured," according to Weaver's complaint.

Weaver contends he sustained a fracture to his C6 vertebra, which resulted in a "compromise of the spinal cord and paralysis from the chest down," as a result of the defendants' negligence.

More specifically, he alleges that the defendants were negligent in: failing to employ a competent security service; failing to ensure that the security personnel were properly trained; "over-reacting and needlessly" chasing him, even though he constituted no threat; failing to properly determine if he was injured at the time he was removed from the swamp; failing to properly transport him from the wooded area to the central location; and failing to properly supervise the activities of the security personnel in the performance of their duties.

Weaver is seeking judgment against the defendants, jointly and severally, in an amount "adequate to compensate him for his injuries and damages," plus all interest allowed by law and the costs of him filing suit.

He is represented by Larry O. Ford of Charleston law firm Meyer, Ford, Glasser and Radman.

Weaver's action is unrelated to multiple suits filed in federal court against the festival last year.

In those cases, the festival, its owners, organizers, hosts, and traffic and security providers were sued after the driver of a pickup truck allegedly hit a tent and killed a young South Carolina woman at the 2011 festival.

The driver of the truck, who also was sued, denied he is liable for Nicole Miller's death.

Miller's father, Kim, and her friends Yen Ton and Elizabeth Doran argued the defendants failed to provide a plan for traffic control and failed to comply with West Virginia code regulating campsite density and roadways.

The defendants, they said, should have been aware of "the hazards and foreseeable dangers" presented by having attendees park their vehicles in close proximity to tents on such steep, grass-covered slopes and rugged terrain.

The two friends also argued they have suffered "serious" physical and emotional injuries and have incurred "significant" economic damages due to Miller's death.