LUBBOCK, Texas — The Weather Channel on Wednesday filed a written response in Lubbock to a $125 million lawsuit. The family of Corbin Lee Jaeger sued The Weather Channel in March for a deadly crash that happened in Dickens County in 2017.
The original lawsuit, filed in federal court, said on-air personalities Kelley Williamson and Randall Yarnall were in the area in a storm-chasing vehicle. But it also said they “habitually ran stop signs, traffic lights and violated other basic traffic safety laws…”
The lawsuit said the storm-chasing vehicle ran a stop sign and hit Jaeger’s vehicle at an intersection. Jaeger, Williamson and Yarnall died in the crash.
The response on Wednesday said The Weather Channel “had no control or right of control” over the people involved in the deadly crash.
“At all times relevant, Yarnall and Williamson were acting as independent contractors with regard to any activities involving The Weather Channel,” the response said.
The original lawsuit took issue with the idea of independent contractors – saying in part The Weather Channel did more than just monitor the video from Williamson and Yarnall. It said, “They instructed Williamson and Yarnall to perform certain actions.”
The Weather Channel’s response said it is “without knowledge or information” to say if Williamson and Yarnall took specific instructions.
The Weather Channel denied allegations of negligence and gross negligence. The lawsuit continues in Lubbock federal court.
CLICK HERE to read the response.
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