Indianapolis (Gannett) -- Country duo Sugarland is responding to claims of negligence filed against it in a civil lawsuit tied to the tragic collapse of state rigging at the Indiana State Fair last summer.
Several victims filed a lawsuit Nov. 22 in Marion Superior Court, claiming that negligence on the part of Sugarland and other companies contributed to the tragedy.
Seven people were killed and more than 40 were injured when a gust of wind toppled equipment that hung over the stage before the group's Aug. 13 concert.
In its response to the lawsuit, Sugarland claims the stage collapse was the result of a "gust of wind of unprecedented intensity" and as such was "a true accident, or act of God."
They also added that "they had nothing to do with the construction of the venue" -- the state fair stage where their concert was to have been held.
Sugarland also said that the plaintiff's claims were caused by "an open and obvious danger," adding that some or all of the plaintiff's injuries "resulted from their own fault."
Sugarland also identified other parties that it said were in part responsible for the tragedy, including Indiana State Fair officials, Indiana State Police, members of the labor union who helped construct the stage and the state of Indiana.
In their response, Sugarland also denied allegations in the earlier lawsuit that said the band had supervisory authority over the setup of the State Fair stage.
"Lucky Star Inc. (the band's ownership company) did not have any control over the size of the stage nor the public address system, as this was all provided for by the Indiana Fair Board," Sugarland said in its response.
A report released Feb. 8 by the Indiana Occupational Safety and Health Administration found that the stage scaffolding was not properly erected and that Mid-America had not inspected the rigging during its construction or after it was erected.
The agency issued more than $80,000 in fines for violations that occurred before the stage was hit by a blast of wind as country duo Sugarland was about to perform.
Mid-America sharply criticized the report.
According to the civil lawsuit filed in November, the companies and the band failed to build a safe stage and should have paid more attention to the weather that evening. When the weather worsened, the lawsuit states, the concert should have been canceled and the crowd evacuated.
The families or estates of four people who died in the accident are listed as plaintiffs in the lawsuit, as well as many other victims who were injured.
Defendants also include concert producer Live Nation, ESG Security, the stagehands' union and other companies involved with Sugarland's concert.
The lawsuit asks the court to award damages and attorneys' fees.