IN BRIEF : Suit Accuses Payton of Negligence

awsuit filed against Walter Payton accuses the former Chicago Bears running back of negligence in the accidental shooting last year of the manager of his suburban restaurant.

The lawsuit, filed Monday in Cook County Circuit Court, contends that Payton, 34, was in his office at Studebaker’s restaurant in suburban Schaumburg on April 13, 1988, handling a French-made 9-millimeter semi-automatic pistol when it fired and hit Elmer Ray Hutson in the knee.

“He (Payton) was sitting there twirling a gun, talking to the man, and the gun went off,” said Hutson’s attorney, Philip Corboy. “He certainly didn’t intend to do it.

“However, there is every indication that he was careless and negligent in the manner in which he handled a loaded pistol in the presence of several people,” Corboy said.

Payton was not charged in the shooting.