[Watch the live feed in the player above this article when court begins at 9 a.m. PST / 12 p.m. EST]
Court continues Wednesday in the David Copperfield trial. Jurors in Las Vegas, Nevada are to decide whether the famed magician and the other defendants, including the MGM Grand Hotel & Casino, are responsible for an alleged slip and fall sustained by Gavin Cox on November 12, 2013. According to the complaint, Cox, a magic fan in town with his wife to celebrate his 53rd birthday, attended one of Copperfield’s shows. As part of the concluding disappearing act, known as “Lucky 13,” he and 12 other audience members were chosen to participate. They were rushed through a dark backstage area, he said, and he fell because of dirt and debris negligently left behind. It was so bad he sustained brain damage.
Cox returned to the stand on Tuesday. He said he never meant to publicly reveal the secrets of the “Lucky 13” illusion.
“I haven’t gone out of my way to expose this trick,” he said. “It was never my reason.”
He said cement dust was one of the things that might have contributed to his slip and fall. This thought first occurred to him in the ER of the hospital.
“Would it be fair to say that you made an assumption that cement dust on the access-way caused you to slip because you couldn’t see any other way that it could happen?” said a defense lawyer during cross-examination.
“I said it was one of the things that possibly caused my slip and fall,” Cox said.
“And ‘possibly,’ it is a factor that you don’t feel you can rule out?” the lawyer said. “But there’s other ones right?”
“I said it’s one of the factors that I believe caused my slip and fall,” Cox said.
MGM Grand’s attorney said in opening statements that Cox fell not because of negligence by the defendants, but because he missed a step.
Copperfield is expected to take the stand again this week. If so, coverage might be spotty. Because of a Nevada appellate ruling over his trade secrets, the public and media outlet will be kicked out of the courtroom if attorneys ask the illusionist about his other tricks.
[David Copperfield via 3 News Las Vegas]
