Jazz suit settled

Last updated 10/17/2000 at Noon

The High Mountains Jazz at Sisters festival settled a lawsuit with Dolores Pritchard for $750,000 before the suit went to trial last week.

Pritchard was injured when she tripped over a log in the dark and fell when exiting the festival tent at the Sisters Village Green during the 1998 festival.

The settlement was paid by the jazz festival's insurance company. The City of Sisters was also named in the suit, but, according to city administrator Barbara Warren, there was no insurance payout by the city in the settlement.

Festival spokesman Jim Fisher said that he and other festival organizers never disputed the fact that the elderly Pritchard was hurt. Fisher said they have heard that she is doing well.

"We're pleased that she has apparently stabilized and seems to have made some improvements," Fisher said.

"I think the settlement represents a win-win situation," Pritchard's attorney Daniel M. Spencer said in a prepared statement. "Ms. Pritchard's needs have been met, the Village Green Park in Sisters has better lighting and the jazz festival is a safer place."

Fisher said that the festival's operations have indeed improved -- but not necessarily because of the legal action.

"Every year during the 10 years (of the festival's operation) we've tried to make it better -- safer, smoother and more efficient," Fisher said. "We'd have done that without a lawsuit."

Fisher said it is not clear yet whether the suit will affect the future insurability of the festival, or the cost of insurance. He said the festival's board of directors plans to meet later this month to review this year's event and steer a future course for the festival.

Fisher said the High Mountains Jazz at Sisters festival was a signal artistic success this year, despite the looming concern over the lawsuit.

"It was a real toll on the board to put on the festival and go through this at the same time," Fisher said.

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Jim Cornelius, Editor in Chief

Jim Cornelius is editor in chief of The Nugget and author of “Warriors of the Wildlands: True Tales of the Frontier Partisans.” A history buff, he explores frontier history across three centuries and several continents on his podcast, The Frontier Partisans. For more information visit www.frontierpartisans.com.