Editors Note: This story was originally published on Dec. 19, 2014
INDIANAPOLIS - A $39 million settlement was reached Friday with the families of victims of the 2011 Indiana State Fair stage collapse.
Seven people were killed and nearly 60 were injured in the collapse, which happened during a performance by country music act Sugarland.
The state paid out $11 million in tort claims in relation to the collapse.
In a statement Friday, Attorney General Greg Zoeller said he has encouraged the private parties to make efforts to resolve their remaining disputes and that he "hopes their private settlement now allows the victims and their families to find peace and move forward."
Bryan Bradley, a spokesman for the Kenneth J. Allen Law Group which is representing many of the victims and families, called the resolution an "historic settlement."
"We believe it is the first time a lesbian couple in a civil union has been treated like any other couple for the purposes of wrongful death recovery," Bradley said. "We are proud to have overcome another hurdle in the struggle for equal treatment regardless of sexual preference."
The settlement resolves cases against 19 of 20 defendants. The case brought by the final defendant, ESG Security, is expected to go to trial in 2015.
