An attempt to revive a wrongful death lawsuit related to the 2015 Straight Outta Compton production has been shut down by a California appeals court.
The court said Wednesday that it wasn't "foreseeable that a third party like [Suge Knight] would harm a mediator at a meeting—particularly one [like Terry Carter] who was, as plaintiffs allege, 'well-respected' by the third party," according to the Hollywood Reporter. Ice Cube, Dr. Dre, and Universal were named in the civil lawsuit as being negligent and liable for Carter’s death.
During a Straight Outta Compton-related production, Knight came to the set and was told to leave by site security worker Cle "Bone" Sloan, at which point the two engaged in an argument. Carter later helped set up a meeting between the two at Tam's Burgers, during which Knight ultimately ran over Carter with a truck. "When Suge took off, Terry ends up being on the right bumper," an "on-set source" said of the incident back in 2015. "I guess when Terry was coming up in the lot, the car hits him, knocks him down, and it just rolls over him."
Among the suit’s theories of fault were that Straight Outta Compton filmmakers were aware of Knight's history of hostility toward Dre and Cube and Sloan's "ten-year history of ill will" toward Knight. The suit, brought by Carter's family, had been amended on several occasions. Ultimately, the appeals court decided that there was no reason to assume that an encounter between Knight and Sloan would have turned violent.
Knight, meanwhile, will stand trial for Carter's death in September.
