Chad Read’s widow seeks $50M in wrongful death lawsuit against Kyle Carruth

LUBBOCK, Texas (KCBD) - There is now a wrongful death lawsuit filed in the deadly November 5 south Lubbock shooting that has garnered nationwide attention.

Jennifer Read, the widow of Chad Read, has filed suit against Kyle Carruth and also Vitruvian Development LLC. She claims Carruth failed to de-escalate the confrontation and used a gun even though no physical threat to life or property existed. The lawsuit states she and Chad Read went to his ex-wife’s place of business trying to find Chad’s youngest son.

The suit claims Carruth “interjected himself” into an argument Chad and Christina were having, as Chad was trying to find where his son was. The suit claims Christina continued to violate their custodial arrangement.

Last week Jennifer Read released mobile phone video that shows the argument, and Carruth going into the home then returning armed. Video of the deadly confrontation has spread on social media and has been reported by multiple national news outlets.

The video shows the argument escalated and Carruth fired a shot in the ground towards Read. Read became more agitated and tried to take the gun. After physical contact with each other, wrestling with the gun, Carruth stepped back and fired two shots. Before the shots were fired, the camera moved and video of the shooting is not caught on camera; however, shots are audible. When the video pans back towards Read, he is lying motionless on the porch.

As we reported last week, Carruth’s attorney David Guinn said this was a clear case of self-defense, and that Read reached for Carruth’s weapon.

“When a trespassing Chad Read advanced on Mr. Carruth, who was standing within feet of the front door of his home and office, employees there, Mr. Read said I’ll take your gun and effing kill you with it and then tried to,” Guinn told KCBD November 24. “It was then and only then did that gun get pointed at Mr. Read at the fatal moment,” Carruth’s attorney said. “Mr. Read had every opportunity to leave, to try to escalate the situation. He was threatening to others. Police had been called and he knew that, Mr. Carruth came out the door, the gun pointed in the air and told him to leave. Most people would have.”

The wrongful death suit states: “For all of the aforementioned reasons, Plaintiff prays for judgment against Defendants in the amount of one hundred million dollars ($50,000,000) for actual damages for pecuniary losses, mental anguish, loss of companionship and society, loss of inheritance, physical and mental pain and suffering, mental anguish, medical expenses, and funeral expenses, exemplary damages, pre-and post-judgment interest as allowed by law, all costs of Court; and all such other and further relief, at law and in equity, to which Plaintiff may be justly entitled.”

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