Bruce Jenner and his lawyers have responded to the wrongful death lawsuit he was served earlier this month in connection to the former Olympian’s fatal car accident in February.
In court documents obtained by ABC News, Jenner, 65, and his legal team call the accident that resulted in Kim Howe’s death a terrible tragedy, but deny the reality star should be financially responsible to the Howe’s stepchildren and ask that the case be dismissed.
The legal response states the stepchildren are financially independent and adult children not financially dependent upon the decedent for ‘the necessities of life.’
Jenner’s lawyers added, We … continue to express sincerest sympathies for the friends and family of Kimberly Howe. … The plaintiffs’ lack of standing to file this case is no comment at all upon their grief or affection. It is merely a statement of law.
Jenner, who has not been charged in the February crash, was served the lawsuit at the beginning of this month, which alleged he was negligent when his SUV hit Howe’s Lexus in Malibu, resulting in her death.
Jenner’s Escalade hit the 69-year-old woman’s white Lexus, causing the car to roll into oncoming traffic, where she hit a Humvee, according to the L.A. County Sheriff’s Department at the time of the crash. The five people inside the Humvee suffered non-life-threatening injuries.
The lawsuit says the two stepchildren — William Howe, 57, and Dana Redmond, 60 — suffered enormous damages and losses after Howe’s death.
Jenner, who was uninjured in the crash, released a statement Feb. 8, the day after the incident, saying, My heartfelt and deepest sympathies go out to the family and loved ones, and to all of those who were involved or injured in this terrible accident. It is a devastating tragedy and I cannot pretend to imagine what this family is going through at this time. I am praying for them. I will continue to cooperate in every way possible.
Jenner cooperated with investigators, police said. He passed a field sobriety test and then voluntarily submitted a blood sample to determine whether he was intoxicated.
The L.A. County Sheriff’s Department is still investigating the crash.
