Hart Family: WWF Suit Settlement

By Caitlin O'toole

07/07/1998 at 12:00 AM EDT

The family of Owen Hart, the pro wrestler who plunged six stories to his death during a wrestling stunt last year, has reached an out-of-court settlement in a wrongful death suit against the World Wrestling Federation, according to an attorney for the family. The Hart family had accused the WWF of making dangerous demands on Owen Hart (best known as "The Blue Blazer") in its pursuit of money and television ratings, which they say led to the 34-year-old wrestler's death after his fall in Kansas City in May 1999, reports Reuters. Hart was wearing a vest attached to cables, and was supposed to be lowered from the catwalk above into the ring below. A release mechanism somehow disengaged and Hart plummeted to the floor, where he bled to death from internal injuries. Lawyers for the Harts and the WWF said the parties had reached an "amicable agreement," and that the WWF would continue its case against companies that manufactured the equipment used in the ill-fated stunt.