FRESNO - The Miss America Organization, the City of Fresno and multiple others were slapped with a civil suit in the Fresno County Superior Court by a pageant participant who was injured trying to walk onto the stage.
According to documents filed on March 9, plaintiff Lisa Simon was participating in the local Miss America Pageant at the Fresno Convention Center Saroyan Theatre on June 28, 2019.
Simon says she was ascending the stairs to the stage and was unaware of a dangerous gap between the stairs and the stage; according to the lawsuit, Simon fell due to the gap, the area's inadequate lighting and no warning that the dangerous condition existed.
The defendants, which include the Miss America Organization, Miss America State and Local Pageant, ASM Global Fresno LLC, Clearwing Systems Integration LLC and the City of Fresno, are charged with negligence, willful failure to warn, dangerous condition of public property and premises liability.
Simon is represented by Yochelson and Associates of Woodland Hills.