Stubbs v. REV Group et al

This civil lawsuit stems from the November 21, 2016, school bus crash in Chattanooga, Tennessee, where a bus driven by Johnthony Walker veered off the road, struck a tree, and split open, killing six elementary school students. Plaintiffs Jasmine and Eric Stubbs, whose child was among the deceased, sued the bus manufacturers REV Group and Collins Bus, along with transportation contractor Durham School Services, for failing to equip the bus with seat belts. Filed in federal court in Illinois on December 11, 2018, the complaint alleged product liability, negligence, and wrongful death, arguing that the crash was foreseeable and that seat belts would have prevented ejection and death. The case was part of a consolidated multi-district litigation encompassing numerous civil suits from grieving families.

The civil claims against REV Group, Collins Bus, and Durham School Services were resolved through confidential settlements. Durham School Services agreed to pay $20.5 million to settle multiple lawsuits, including the Stubbs claim. The criminal case against driver Johnthony Walker resulted in a conviction for vehicular homicide, with a sentence of four years in prison.

The central dispute was whether school bus manufacturers and contractors bore legal liability for deaths caused by ejections in a crash, specifically for failing to install seat belts in the bus despite industry knowledge of their life-saving potential, and whether that omission constituted a design defect or negligence under product liability law.

The tragedy and subsequent litigation galvanized a national movement for mandatory seat belts on school buses. It heavily influenced legislative efforts, particularly in Tennessee, where "Zoie's Law" was proposed, and intensified demands for the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration to revise its stance that compartmentalization alone was sufficient for school bus safety. The crash remains a watershed moment in school transportation safety advocacy.