Civil suit partially decided

A major civil lawsuit stemming from a fatal automobile accident six years ago in Beckham County has been partially settled without going to trial.
One part of the suit alleged that a man who was living at the time in Clinton ran a stop sign at a high rate of speed in Elk City, with his auto striking another which caused injuries that led to the death of Elk City resident Pamela R. Cain. Her brother, Michael Boyle, was one of the parties to the suit.
The man who allegedly ran the stop sign was George Carothers who had a blood alcohol content of .29, which was more than three times the amount at which a person is now considered legally drunk in Oklahoma. Carothers supposedly had been sold 3.2 beer that day at Fast Lane store No. 3 located at 1074 U.S. Highway 183 in Clinton.
The partial settlement was worked out by attorneys for Ms. Cain’s estate and those representing defendants ASAP Energy Inc. and Fast Lane Stores Inc. An order approving the settlement was signed by District Judge Doug Haught and filed Dec. 3.
In it, Ms. Cain’s estate is to be paid $211,217.50, with the estate’s lawyers receiving an identical amount plus $2,565 for costs they incurred.
No liability is admitted by defendants in the settlement.
Targets of the original suit were not only ASAP Energy Inc. and Fast Lane Stores Inc. but also Carothers and others.
The suit had been scheduled for trial Nov. 27 at the Custer County Courthouse in Arapaho, but it was not held and on Dec. 3 an order signed by Judge Haught approving a partial settlement was filed.
A joint application to approve the partial settlement and distribution of funds was submitted by attorneys for both sides prior to Judge Haught issuing his order.
“At the request of the Plaintiff (Boyle), the terms of the settlement have been explained to the Court but the specifics of the agreement are not set out in detail in this Order,” Haught wrote. The order then gave the distribution of funds from ASAP Energy Inc. and Fast Lane Stores Inc.
The application for settlement stated: “Although the entire case has been settled, the Plaintiff is not asking the court to approve the settlement with Defendant George Carothers at this time. The Plaintiff will seek approval of the settlement with Defendant Carothers by separate motion.”
Agreed to by attorneys for both the plaintiff and defendants, the application for settlement called the agreement “fair and just.” But it added, “The compromise of this disputed claim is in no way to be construed as an admission of liability by the Defendants to the Plaintiff.”
The fatal accident occurred May 4, 2012.
Ashley Haas was driving the automobile in which Ms. Cain was riding that day. She survived, although sustaining severe injuries.
Ms. Haas was a party to the original suit but is not mentioned in either the request for partial dismissal or Judge Haught’s order approving the settlement and distribution of funds.