Dance instructor sues State Theater

Staff Report

ELIZABETHTOWN — Attorneys representing the Historic State Theater in Elizabethtown say injuries to a woman who reportedly fell into a stairwell at Plum Alley Theater last April are the fault of no one but the woman.

Carla Caldera rented the Plum Alley Theater last April for a dance event. She claims she fell into an unlit, obscured stairwell while heading back stage. 

Caldera filed suit against the theater for more than $100,000 in damages resulting from the fall. The civil complaint claims the theater is liable for negligence by not posting warning signs or lighting the stairwell for safety. 

In the complaint filed April 7, Caldera claims ongoing suffering from a serious ankle injury, along with other injuries to her back and legs. Side effects of pain medications also has kept her from teaching, according to the suit.

In an answer to the claim filed by State Theater attorneys last week, defendants say the theater complex has sovereign immunity as a publicly owned facility. Attorneys for the theater claim no responsibility for the woman's fall or liability for her injuries.

Any injuries are the result of the "sole negligence of the plaintiff," the theater's answer to the complaint states.

The executive director of the theater was unavailable for comment Thursday due to an illness.

No court dates have been scheduled.