LOS ANGELES : Stuntwoman’s Family Sues for $10 Million in Her Death

A wrongful-death lawsuit was filed Wednesday in a Los Angeles Superior Court against Paramount Studios, actor Eddie Murphy and director Wes Craven by the family of a stuntwoman killed during filming of an upcoming movie.

The lawsuit, which seeks $10 million, is a result of a fatal stunt involving Sonya Davis on the set of Paramount’s film “A Vampire in Brooklyn.” Davis was critically injured after an unsuccessful 42-foot backward leap from a building in November.

Wanda Sapp, mother of the victim, and three siblings claim the film crew “failed to obtain proper safety equipment” for the stunt, according to the complaint.

Also named in the suit is Alan Oliney, who served as stunt coordinator on the movie. The film was produced by Eddie Murphy Productions and directed by Craven, who gained fame as the director of such horror films as “Nightmare on Elm Street” and “The Serpent and the Rainbow.”