Two of the defendants in a lawsuit over a deadly crash at a produce stand have filed responses denying wrongdoing.
In December, Albert Claudio Jr., the longtime partner of Pamela Ciuni, filed a lawsuit over her death. Ciuni was struck and killed Aug. 10, 2020, by a vehicle driven by Jerry Hoyt as she was looking at produce at Duda’s Farm stand off Fairmont Road. Donna Pixler, the landowner where the stand was setup, was also named as a defendant.
Both Pixler and Duda’s Farm responded to the complaint and asserted defenses in January.
Duda’s, represented by attorney Jonathan Jacks, claimed 23 legal defenses in its response. It denies “each and every allegation” toward Duda’s suggesting “liability, fault, or wrongdoing.’
In Pixler’s response, she also denies she is liable.
Both responses admit Pixler agreed to lease part of the property she owned to Duda’s. Pixler’s response calls it an oral agreement, while Duda’s said it’s a “hand-shake agreement.”
Duda’s response requests the lawsuit be dismissed with prejudice and attorneys’ fees for the defense be awarded.
Claudio is seeking an unspecified amount of money “in such amount as will fully and fairly compensate the estate and the statutory wrongful death beneficiaries for all damages, liquidated and unliquidated, provided under West Virginia law.”
His suit claims Pixler and Duda’s should have foreseen such a crash and installed safety measures to protect customers.
Hoyt has not responded to the suit as of Feb. 2.
