Family seeks $2.5M from stadium owners

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DEDHAM, Mass., Nov. 21 (UPI) -- A Massachusetts judge will decide whether a lawsuit against the owners of the New England Patriots' Gillette Stadium will go forward to trial, attorneys said.

The suit, filed by the family of a woman killed in a 2008 car crash after a stadium concert and a crash survivor, seeks at least $2.5 million from the Kraft Group, The Boston Globe reported Wednesday.

Kraft Group attorney Douglas Fox said the crash was not the company's fault and that passenger Debra Davis, 20, and survivor Nina Houlihan illegally brought alcohol to a tailgate party.

In addition, Fox told Judge Patrick Brady that the women were trespassing since they did not have tickets to the stadium's New England Country Music Festival.

The driver of the car, 19-year-old Alexa Latteo, died when her vehicle veered off the road a mile from the stadium and hit a tree, killing Davis and injuring Houlihan.

Authorities said Latteo had a blood-alcohol level of 0.24.

Judge Brady is expected to rule before the end of the year on the fate of the lawsuit.