PITTSBURGH - Ben Roethlisberger filed suit this morning in the Court of Common Pleas of Allegheny County against Martha Fleishman, the woman who was driving a Chrysler New Yorker that pulled into Roethlisberger's lane of traffic while he was driving a motorcyle on Second Avenue on June 12, causing a near-catastrophic accident. The suit also names back-up Steeler quarterback Charlie Batch as a defendant, contending that Batch conspired with Fleishman to murder Roethlisberger.Roethlisberger refused to respond to a reporter's questions about the suit, but he was seen wearing an Imperial Margarine crown at the Steeler's training facility today "in silent protest" against the Fleishman Margarine Company, owned by the principal defendant in his lawsuit.
Among other allegations, Roethlisberger's complaint avers that Mrs. Fleishman's negligence "ruptured" Roethlisberger's relationship with his mother, who was scheduled to co-star with the young quarterback in a Campbell's Chunky Soup commercial that was to have filmed this week. That commercial was scuttled in the aftermath of the accident due to Roethlisberger's serious injuries. The complaint states: "Plaintiff's mother reasonably believes that 'that Squirrel Hill bitch [Mrs. Fleishman] unfairly deprived [her] of a prospective career as a Hollywood starlet.'"
The filing asks the court to compel Mrs. Fleishman to turn over to plaintiff controlling interest of the lucrative Fleishman Margarine Company in lieu of money damages.
Mrs. Fleishman refused to discuss the suit with a reporter but volunteered that Roethlisberger "must have butter for brains" for failing to wear a helmet at the time of the accident. "And that's the lowest form of ingredient your brains can have," added the margarine baroness.
The count against Charlie Batch alleges that Batch "sought to murder Plaintiff so that he could be named starting quarterback [for the Steelers]." It proceeds to belittle Batch's performance in the four games he appeared in last season, all of which the Steelers won. Asked to comment on the suit, Batch issued a statement denying that he conspired with Mrs. Fleishman to harm Roethlisberger but "applauding her efforts to take him out."
