Parents Can Proceed To Trial Vs. USC Over Son's Film Shoot Death: Judge Rules

CHATSWORTH, CA — A judge has denied a motion by USC to dismiss the university as a defendant in a lawsuit brought by the family of a cinematographer who was killed in a 2022 off-road vehicle crash during a student film shoot at the Glamis Sand Dunes in Imperial County.

However, while Chatsworth Superior Court Judge Michael J. O'Gara ruled Wednesday that the relatives of 29-year-old Peng "Aaron" Wang could proceed to trial against USC on a claim for negligence/respondeat superior, he dismissed the second allegation against the university for respondeat superior/vicarious liability/agency/joint venture/joint enterprise. The judge said there was nothing to be tried regarding joint and equal control of any alleged joint enterprise or venture.

In their court papers urging dismissal of the case, USC attorneys cited the legal doctrine of assumption of the risk and noted that the decedent was not wearing a seat belt.

"As the undisputed facts show, Wang died when the UTV he was riding in rolled over while traversing a sand dune," the USC lawyers argued in their pleadings." "Off-roading in a UTV is an inherently dangerous activity."

But in his ruling, O'Mara said that triable issues exist whether USC exercised reasonable care in enforcing its safety rules and vetting safety in approving student film projects as well as whether any alleged failure increased the risk of harm to Wang.

"Here, USC does not control the Glamis dunes, but does exercise extensive control over student film projects through its safety rules," the judge wrote.

The lawsuit was brought by Hualan Wang and Hua Sun, the father and mother, respectively, of the late Wang. Also named as defendants are the "Finale" film's director, Ting Su, and producer, Biangliang Li, both of whom are USC students and Chinese nationals. The judge ruled the parents can also proceed to trial against those defendants.

According to a sworn declaration by Joseph B. Wallenstein, USC's then-director of physical production at the School of Cinematic Arts, "At no point did I receive a (form) relating to graduate student Ting Su's student project, `Finale,' that requested permission to use UTVs or to drive off-road over sand dunes in connection with the filming of the project."

In all of the years Wallenstein worked at USC, he never approved a form for a student to drive a UTV or ATV off road and up a sand dune, Wallentein further said.

Wang was a Chapman University film student recruited by the USC students to serve as their cameraman for "Finale," a movie about the hallucinations and death of a man in the desert, the suit states. Filming took place in the Glamis Dunes, east of Brawley, and Wang died from injuries sustained when a Can-Am off-road vehicle, driven by Li, rolled down one of the dunes on April 15, 2022, the suit states.

Wang's Imperial County death certificate, attached to the suit, states he died of blunt neck trauma.

"Asking film students to handle and oversee all of their own on-set safety without oversight is like asking an elephant to fly, according to USC's own faculty," the suit filed in September 2022 states.

USC had the responsibility and ability to exercise control over its students and its school film projects, according to the suit. However, the university was "negligent in the exercise of that control on the `Finale' production" instead of fulfilling its obligation to protect Wang from harm, the suit further contends.

USC actively recruits Chinese students such as Li and Su to enroll in its film school, yet fails to teach them to identify and react to the inherent dangers of filmmaking, the suit alleges

Su and Li were negligent in their provision of planning, control and safety in that they did not ensure Li had the proper training to drive the vehicle and that Wang would be protected, the suit states.

Trial of the lawsuit is scheduled June 22.

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