Lawyers square off after Sugarland depositions

CHARLESTON, W. Va. (WISH) - Preliminary depositions for the two members of Sugarland finished today in Charleston West Virginia. And when it was over, one of the victims attorney's called Jennifer Nettles and Kristian Bush "hypocrites" who didn't really care about their fans.

"Those at the top, the band Sugarland, its management and promoters, made a decision to go forward with that concert, notwithstanding an approaching severe thunderstorm," said Kenneth Allen, an attorney representing the estates of three victims in the state fair stage collapse. "In her deposition, Jennifer Nettles said that the safety of her fans was not her concern. That was not a concern for her. That was not a concern for Kristian Bush."

Nettles and Bush each spent hours answering questions from dozens of attorneys during preliminary depositions the last two days in Charleston, W. Va. Allen said Sugarland's claim of love for its fans is nothing more than a lot of public relations prose.

"They knew that if they did not perform, they would not get paid. And it's as simple as that. So they decided to take a risk. They decided to take a gamble," he said.

That gamble, he said, cost people's lives.

But Sugarland attorney Bill Johnson, who spoke to 24-Hour News 8 in Charleston, sees it differently.

"That happened extremely suddenly,” he said of the events of that night, “and they were in a tunnel below the stage. So what did they know and when did they know it?"

According to one of two reports on what went wrong Aug. 13, Sugarland band manager Helen Rollins was asked twice whether the show should be delayed. Twice the band manager said no . Kenneth Allen puts the blame for the tragedy squarely on the shoulders of Sugarland.

"They took the risk and gambled with the lives and the well being of their fans," he said.

The two days of testimony by Sugarland is just the start. The two will be questioned in more detail later, as their tour schedule allows.