A NEW York judge has granted a jury trial in a $20 million damages lawsuit against the National Theatre of Scotland (NTS) at the request of a stagehand hurt in a production of the infamously ill-omened Shakespeare play, Macbeth.
District Judge John G Koeltl signed off on the trial last week, despite the NTS vehemently denying responsibility for a temporary wall falling on local American worker Jason Makula.
The decision means the case is now likely to hang over the NTS for another year, as final motions will not be filed until April 2014. At that point, both sides must be ready to go to trial at 48 hours' notice, with the case expected to last five days. The Sunday Herald first revealed details of the £13 million civil suit last month.
Makula claims he suffered "great physical pain, mental anguish and bodily injuries" when a stage wall fell on him while the set was being dismantled at the end of Alan Cumming's acclaimed one-man Macbeth last July.
Although Makula was employed by the venue hired by the NTS, the Jazz at Lincoln Centre, he claims the NTS was "absolutely liable" as it was in charge at the time. The event was "caused wholly and solely by reason of the carelessness, recklessness and negligence" of the NTS, its agents or employees, Makula's court complaint alleges.
He further claims his injuries led to large medical bills, and have left him facing "continuous pain and suffering in the future", limiting his ability to work.
Through its US lawyers, the NTS, which had an income of £6m last year, accepts Makula was injured, but strongly denies being at fault. It suggests either Makula himself or his immediate colleagues were to blame.
The NTS tried and failed to have the case dismissed earlier this year. Makula subsequently requested a jury trial.
At a pre-trial hearing last week, Judge Koeltl ruled that the discovery process, in which both sides amass evidence about the case, should be completed by February 21, 2014, with parties ready to go to trial from April 18, 2014.
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