CHARLESTON, S.C. (Legal Newsline) - Snapchat is attacking a wrongful death lawsuit that blames its Speed Filter for a fatal car accident in South Carolina.
Snap, Inc., on March 29 filed a motion to dismiss in South Carolina federal court in a lawsuit over the death of Kaiea Spring Batts, who was a passenger in a car that crashed in June 2021.
Batts, of Johns Island, S.C., was only 14 years old when she died in the crash. The original lawsuit said the driver of the car was using the Speed Filter, which allows users to record themselves traveling at high speeds in order to win potential rewards.
Creating such a filter was negligent, the lawsuit says. But Snap, in response to changes made in an amended complaint, says there is a dispute over whether it was even being used at the time of the crash.
"Plaintiff now alleges that some unidentified occupant in the car - not necessarily the driver - was either using the Speed Filter or that this unnamed occupant was not using the Speed Filter but planned to," the motion to dismiss says.
"Beyond the equivocal allegation about whether the Speed Filter was actually being used, Plaintiff omits any allegation tying the Speed Filter to the driver whose reckless driving caused the accident.
"There is no allegation that, even if the Speed Filter was in use, the driver knew of it or was influenced by it in any way."
The car was traveling at a high rate of speed when it hit a tree around 2 a.m. Batts was ejected from the vehicle from the back seat and died on the scene.
The driver of the car, 16 years old at the time, was charged with reckless homicide.
Though the crash occurred in South Carolina, Snap says it shouldn't be subject to the jurisdiction of the federal courts there. It is incorporated in Delaware and has a principal place of business in South Carolina.
It is not simply enough to allege Snapchat is available to South Carolina residents, the motion adds. Snap is represented by Wesley Moran and Mark Phillips of Nelson Mullins Riley & Scarborough in Charleston, plus attorneys at Keller/Anderle in Irvine, Calif.
The lawsuit was brought by Batts' parents, represented by Gedney Howe III and Gedney Howe IV of The Law Offices of Gedney Howe III, and Carl Pierce II, William Early and R. Richard Gergel of Charleston.