Indiana Judge Orders Sugarland's Stage-Collapse Testimony

An Indiana judge has declared that country duo Sugarland won't escape depositions in multiple lawsuits stemming from last August's deadly stage collapse, reports the Associated Press.

Marion Superior Court Judge Theodore Sosin on Friday rejected a timetable proposed by Mid-America Sound Corp. that could've had Jennifer Nettles and Kristian Bush awaiting testimony as soon as Monday. With the duo preparing to tour, their depositions have been postponed until a window between April 1 and April 15 as ordered by Sosin. Sugarland's attorneys had recommended putting off testimony until May.

The stage roof and rigging holding light and sound equipment built by Mid-America collapsed during Sugarland's Aug. 13, 2011 Indiana State Fair performance under the force of high-velocity winds. The felled staging killed seven people and injured another 43.

A pending civil suit claims that concert promoters and Mid-America share liability for the injuries and deaths because both parties overloaded the stage, didn't properly monitor the mounting 60-70 MPH winds, and let the show go on instead of evacuating for the audience's safety. Though Sugarland maintained that "they had nothing to do with the construction of the venue," a deposed Indiana State Fair official claimed under oath that officials twice told the band that the show should be delayed, but that the band wanted to perform.

Documents obtained in February by Indiana news station WRTV contained statements by Sugarland representatives that "Some or all of the plaintiffs failed to exercise care for their own safety."

In case you missed the raw footage from when the stage collapsed, you can watch it below: