A New Jersey judge ruled Friday that the sender of a text message cannot be held liable for an accident caused by a driver who read that message, dismissing a case that attracted national attention.
Morris County Superior Court Judge David Rand said the sender of the text, Shannon Colonna, had no way to know when driver Kyle Best would read the text, and therefore had no responsibility for a horrific 2009 accident in which Best was found at fault.
Both David and Linda Kubert, who were in a vehicle struck by Best, suffered devastating injuries in the crash, including leg amputations.
The Kuberts' lawyer, Skippy Weinstein, advanced a novel legal theory which would have placed part of the liability for the crash on Colonna, arguing that she knew Best would be driving as she engaged him in a text message conversation. His theory rested a claim that Colonna "aided and abetted" the responsible party, and last week, several legal experts told msnbc.com the argument might have merit, and could be convincing to a jury.
But Rand didn't see it that way. He dismissed the case on summary judgment.
Read the rest of this MSNBC storyHERE.
