LOS ANGELES (CNS) - Hollywood film producer Joel Silver, whose personal assistant died during a 2015 trip to Bora Bora, should be held secondarily liable for the actions of his chef in allegedly plying the woman with alcohol and drugs before she drowned, her parents' lead attorney told a judge today.
But Silver's lawyer, Matthew E. Voss, argued that Carmel Musgrove's death was not foreseeable on the part of his client and did not occur during the course and scope of the producer's employment of his chef, Martin Herold. Voss urged Los Angeles Superior Court Judge Dennis J. Landin to dismiss the part of the wrongful death case Musgrove's parents filed that pertains to Silver.
The judge did not immediately rule, deciding instead to take the case under submission after praising both sides for their strong briefing. He did not say when he would have a decision.
Silver was in Bora Bora for the honeymoon party of actors Jennifer Aniston and Justin Theroux, who have since divorced, when the nude body of his 28-year-old assistant was found floating in a lagoon near the Four Seasons hotel at 1 a.m. on Aug. 20, 2015.
Autopsies in French Polynesia and in San Diego County, where Musgroves' parents live, concluded that the likely cause of death was drowning with drugs and alcohol as contributing factors, along with fatigue and heat stroke.
Ronald and Ann Musgrove brought their Los Angeles Superior Court lawsuit in August 2017, alleging that their daughter had been overworked and furnished with cocaine during the trip by Herold, with whom she was allegedly in a romantic relationship.
"Silver arranged and paid for Herold to arrive before the rest of the party in order to have the meal preparation ready when Silver, his family and guests arrived," according to court papers filed by the Musgroves. "Herold was expected to prepare dinners and lunches, shop for necessary food items and perform related tasks throughout the stay in Bora Bora."
Herold was sued along with Silver, Silver Pictures and Silver-Katz Holdings. The Musgroves settled the part of the case against Silver Pictures and Silver-Katz Holdings in January 2020 and Silver is no longer with Silver Pictures, the production company he founded in 1980 that co-produced the "Lethal Weapon," "Matrix" and "Sherlock Holmes" film franchises.
Voss told the judge that Herold's duties were to cook for Silver and his family and nothing more. Silver also didn't provide drugs or alcohol to Musgrove or know she would later go swimming, Voss said.
But plaintiffs' attorney Bradley Wallace countered that Silver paid all of Herold's expenses and provided an open tab on alcohol use.
In a sworn declaration submitted in November in support of dismissing the part of the case against him, Silver denied having any liability for Herold's alleged actions regarding Musgrove and maintained his practice is to promote and maintain a drug-free working environment.
"Mr. Herold was not acting within the course and scope of his employment as my family's personal chef during the Bora Bora trip at the time Mr. Herold and Ms. Musgrove allegedly consumed alcohol and drugs prior to her death, and when Ms. Musgrove allegedly went swimming in the lagoon at night near her bungalow at the Four Seasons Hotel during the Bora Bora trip," Silver said in his declaration. "Mr. Herold was not acting as my employee or agent at that time."
Silver also said he did not "promote any dangerous activities" during the trip, including alcohol and drug consumption or swimming in a lagoon late at night during unfavorable weather conditions, and thus "I did not create any conditions that placed Ms. Musgrove in peril or danger during the Bora Bora trip, or at any other time, which allegedly resulted in her drowning."
But according to Musgrove's parents' court papers, ample evidence exists that Herold's actions with their daughter were within the scope of his employment with Silver.
"It is clear that Silver's established custom and practice was for his staff and employees to accompany him on his vacations to perform work for him and that they were expected to engage in recreation while on the trip," their court papers state. "The trip to Bora Bora was not the first family vacation on which Silver brought both Herold and Musgrove. Silver typically took two family vacations per year and would routinely bring Musgrove and Herold on such vacations."
On previous trips to Bora Bora, Silver arranged for Herold to stay at the Bora Bora Hilton instead of at the Four Seasons with the rest of his group, according to the plaintiffs' court papers.
"On this occasion, however, Silver had Herold stay at the Four Seasons, a decision that was obviously made for Silver's own benefit and convenience so that Herold would be easily available when needed," the plaintiffs allege.
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', 'componentVariation': 'brightcove'}, 'original_ref': 'www.audacy.com/_components/brightcove/instances/ckkzvs9h900152a7774f1i1ik@published'}], 'slug': 'judge-considers-wrongful-death-claim-against-producer', 'tags': ['Joel Silver', 'Bora Bora', 'Wrongful Death Lawsuit'], 'feeds': {'msn': True, 'rss': True, 'postup': True, 'newsfeed': True, 'sitemaps': True, 'frequency': True, 'smartNews': True, 'apple-news': False, 'smart-news': True, 'most-popular': True, 'reversechron': True, 'google-news-feed': True}, 'hosts': [], 'adTags': {'original_ref': 'www.audacy.com/_components/ad-tags/instances/ckkzvo5sk00ops5p9r7lo0l5i@published'}, 'byline': [{'names': [{'name': 'City News Service', 'text': 'City News Service', 'slug': 'city-news-service'}], 'sources': [], 'hosts': [], 'prefix': 'by'}], 'teaser': 'Judge considers wrongful death claim against Hollywood producer whose personal assistant died in Bora Bora', 'authors': ['City News Service'], 'content': [{'data': {'text': "LOS ANGELES (CNS) - Hollywood film producer Joel Silver, whose personal assistant died during a 2015 trip to Bora Bora, should be held secondarily liable for the actions of his chef in allegedly plying the woman with alcohol and drugs before she drowned, her parents' lead attorney told a judge today.<br />\xa0\xa0But Silver's lawyer, Matthew E. Voss, argued that Carmel Musgrove's death was not foreseeable on the part of his client and did not occur during the course and scope of the producer's employment of his chef, Martin Herold. Voss urged Los Angeles Superior Court Judge Dennis J. Landin to dismiss the part of the wrongful death case Musgrove's parents filed that pertains to Silver.<br />\xa0\xa0The judge did not immediately rule, deciding instead to take the case under submission after praising both sides for their strong briefing. He did not say when he would have a decision.<br />\xa0\xa0Silver was in Bora Bora for the honeymoon party of actors Jennifer Aniston and Justin Theroux, who have since divorced, when the nude body of his 28-year-old assistant was found floating in a lagoon near the Four Seasons hotel at 1 a.m. on Aug. 20, 2015.<br />\xa0\xa0Autopsies in French Polynesia and in San Diego County, where Musgroves' parents live, concluded that the likely cause of death was drowning with drugs and alcohol as contributing factors, along with fatigue and heat stroke.<br />\xa0\xa0Ronald and Ann Musgrove brought their Los Angeles Superior Court lawsuit in August 2017, alleging that their daughter had been overworked and furnished with cocaine during the trip by Herold, with whom she was allegedly in a romantic relationship.<br />\xa0\xa0"Silver arranged and paid for Herold to arrive before the rest of the party in order to have the meal preparation ready when Silver, his family and guests arrived," according to court papers filed by the Musgroves. "Herold was expected to prepare dinners and lunches, shop for necessary food items and perform related tasks throughout the stay in Bora Bora."<br />\xa0\xa0Herold was sued along with Silver, Silver Pictures and Silver-Katz Holdings. The Musgroves settled the part of the case against Silver Pictures and Silver-Katz Holdings in January 2020 and Silver is no longer with Silver Pictures, the production company he founded in 1980 that co-produced the "Lethal Weapon," "Matrix" and "Sherlock Holmes" film franchises.<br />\xa0\xa0Voss told the judge that Herold's duties were to cook for Silver and his family and nothing more. Silver also didn't provide drugs or alcohol to Musgrove or know she would later go swimming, Voss said.<br />\xa0\xa0But plaintiffs' attorney Bradley Wallace countered that Silver paid all of Herold's expenses and provided an open tab on alcohol use.<br />\xa0\xa0In a sworn declaration submitted in November in support of dismissing the part of the case against him, Silver denied having any liability for Herold's alleged actions regarding Musgrove and maintained his practice is to promote and maintain a drug-free working environment.<br />\xa0\xa0"Mr. Herold was not acting within the course and scope of his employment as my family's personal chef during the Bora Bora trip at the time Mr. Herold and Ms. Musgrove allegedly consumed alcohol and drugs prior to her death, and when Ms. Musgrove allegedly went swimming in the lagoon at night near her bungalow at the Four Seasons Hotel during the Bora Bora trip," Silver said in his declaration. "Mr. Herold was not acting as my employee or agent at that time."<br />\xa0\xa0Silver also said he did not "promote any dangerous activities" during the trip, including alcohol and drug consumption or swimming in a lagoon late at night during unfavorable weather conditions, and thus "I did not create any conditions that placed Ms. Musgrove in peril or danger during the Bora Bora trip, or at any other time, which allegedly resulted in her drowning."<br />\xa0\xa0But according to Musgrove's parents' court papers, ample evidence exists that Herold's actions with their daughter were within the scope of his employment with Silver.<br />\xa0\xa0"It is clear that Silver's established custom and practice was for his staff and employees to accompany him on his vacations to perform work for him and that they were expected to engage in recreation while on the trip," their court papers state. "The trip to Bora Bora was not the first family vacation on which Silver brought both Herold and Musgrove. Silver typically took two family vacations per year and would routinely bring Musgrove and Herold on such vacations."<br />\xa0\xa0On previous trips to Bora Bora, Silver arranged for Herold to stay at the Bora Bora Hilton instead of at the Four Seasons with the rest of his group, according to the plaintiffs' court papers.<br />\xa0\xa0"On this occasion, however, Silver had Herold stay at the Four Seasons, a decision that was obviously made for Silver's own benefit and convenience so that Herold would be easily available when needed," the plaintiffs allege.", 'componentVariation': 'paragraph'}, 'original_ref': 'www.audacy.com/_components/paragraph/instances/ckkzvo5sk00ots5p9jf0dxd5d@published'}], 'feedImg': {'data': {'alt': 'Getty', 'url': 'https://images.radio.com/aiu-media/GettyImages531578472-e3993c81-b29a-4158-ad23-e5ad96f37dc5.jpg', 'width': 1024, 'credit': None, 'height': 713, 'mimeType': 'image/jpeg', 'sizeInBytes': '53080', 'componentVariation': 'feed-image'}, 'original_ref': 'www.audacy.com/_components/feed-image/instances/ckkzvo5sk00oqs5p9tuwmc2ld@published'}, 'sources': [], '_version': 20, 'featured': False, 'headline': 'Judge considers wrongful death claim against Hollywood producer whose personal assistant died in Bora Bora', 'msnTitle': 'Judge considers wrongful death claim against Hollywood producer whose personal assistant died in Bora Bora', 'textTags': ['Joel Silver', 'Bora Bora', 'Wrongful Death Lawsuit'], 'pageTitle': 'Judge considers wrongful death claim against producer ', 'sideShare': {'original_ref': 'www.audacy.com/_components/share/instances/ckkzvo5sk00ors5p95wm6w5l7@published'}, 'feedImgUrl': 'https://images.radio.com/aiu-media/GettyImages531578472-e3993c81-b29a-4158-ad23-e5ad96f37dc5.jpg', 'feedLayout': 'small', 'showSocial': True, 'stationURL': 'https://www.audacy.com/knxnews', 'breadcrumbs': [{'hidden': False, 'text': 'KNX 1070 NEWSRADIO', 'url': '//www.audacy.com/knxnews'}, {'hidden': False, 'text': 'News', 'url': '//www.audacy.com/knxnews/news'}, {'hidden': False, 'text': 'Local', 'url': '//www.audacy.com/knxnews/news/local'}], 'contentType': 'article', 'seoHeadline': 'Judge considers wrongful death claim against producer ', 'stationName': 'KNX 1070 NEWSRADIO', 'stationSlug': 'knxnews', 'subHeadline': '', 'dateModified': '2021-02-10T20:31:12.600Z', 'featuredNews': False, 'sectionFront': 'news', 'fullWidthLead': False, 'shortHeadline': 'Judge considers wrongful death claim against Hollywood producer whose personal assistant died in Bora Bora', 'syndicatedUrl': '', 'featuredSports': False, 'msnTitleLength': 106, 'seoDescription': 'Hollywood film producer Joel Silver, whose personal assistant died during a 2015 trip to Bora Bora, should be held secondarily liable for the actions of his chef in allegedly plying the woman with alcohol and drugs before she drowned. 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