Jury in wrongful death lawsuit over Bend teen’s 2021 Wickiup Reservoir drowning finds driver, victim, mom, others negligent

A.J. Clough's mother, estate had sought $34 million damages; award expected to be under $20,000

BEND, Ore. (KTVZ) – A Deschutes County jury has ruled in a $34 million wrongful death lawsuit filed by the mother of Bend teen killed in June 2021 crash at Wickiup Reservoir that she and the teen himself represented nearly half of the negligence leading to his death, resulting in expected damages of less than $20,000 being awarded to his estate.

NewsChannel 21 reported at the time that on the night of June 28, 2021, former Mountain View High School student AJ “Anthony” Clough, 17, was hanging out with his friends at Wickiup Reservoir. He was supposed to come home at midnight, but told his mother, Lynelle he was going to stay out late.

Lynelle Clough said she later found out that AJ and four of his teen friends from Bend were “partying” and doing “donuts” in a pickup when it flipped into the reservoir.

The four other young people made it out, but AJ did not when the vehicle flipped over, trapping him underwater.

“I watched them pull my son from the water. I actually touched him in a body bag,” his mother told us then. “It was, and probably forever will be, the worst day of my life."

Clough and her son’s estate filed the wrongful death and negligence lawsuit in December 2021 against six defendants. They included the driver, the underage teen who used a fake ID to buy the alcohol and Walmart, which it said failed to verify his age.

Other defendants included the North Unit Irrigation District, U.S. Bureau of Reclamation and U.S. Forest Service. The federal agencies were accused in the lawsuit of negligence for "failing to take any reasonable measures" to prevent such a tragedy, which it alleged "is a regular occurrence" at the reservoir.

The lawsuit said Lynelle Clough "waited in agony for hours," then watched as her son's body was pulled from the water, causing "incredible trauma and emotional pain."

Over the time since the lawsuit was filed, the North Unit Irrigation District, Bureau of Reclamation, Forest Service and Walmart were dismissed as defendants, leaving the driver of the car as the sole defendant by the time it went to trial. Lynelle Clough also was dismissed as an individual plaintiff, leaving only A.J. Clough’s estate, for which his mother is administrator.

Introducing the case to prospective jurors, Judge Alison Emerson noted that the driver was the only remaining defendant. But she said of three dismissed defendants -- the alcohol buyer, Walmart and the North Unit Irrigation District -- "you are not to assume from the fact that they are no longer defendants, that they should or should not bear any responsibility" for what happened, or not have to pay any share of awarded damages.

The Forest Service and Bureau of Reclamation were dismissed as defendants and removed from the lawsuit shortly after it was filed, and were not mentioned to jurors.

After two days of pre-trial motion hearings without the jury present and an eight-day trial, the jury took an hour and 45 minutes to reach its decision, said Bruno Jagelski, the defndant's (teen driver's) attorney.

The jury's April 26 verdict found that while the driver's negligence was a cause of damages to the estate, Clough and his mother, Walmart and the underage alcohol provider also shared in the negligence that led to the fatal crash.

The jurors were directed in their deliberations to break down by percentage each party's negligence in the teen's death, known as a "comparative fault" adjustment, adding up to 100%. On the verdict form, they listed the driver as representing 35% of the total, A.J. Clough 30%, Lynelle Clough 15%, Walmart 10% and the underage alcohol buyer 10%.

Because the mother and son were found to represent less than 50% of the total negligence, the verdict was in favor of the plaintiffs and against the remaining defendant.

The jury then determined that the teen’s estate was to be awarded $5,000 in economic damages and $50,000 in non-economic damages.

Jagelski said that under an expected court filing, using the jury's percentage determination in the comparative fault adjustment, the driver is expected to have to pay $19,250 - 35% of the negligence formula - to the teen's estate.

The verdict form also asked the jury if A.J. Clough failed to use a seat belt, and they said he did, but that it did not contribute to the awarded damages.

Lynelle Clough’s Bend attorney, Emmanuel Miller, said this week, “It’s a disappointing result, for sure."

"We’re still at the point where we could file and ask the court to reevaluate” the jury's decision, he added, taking into account some legal issues that were not presented to jurors.

Jagelski also provided a statement on the outcome of the trial:

“We thank the jury for their service and for taking their responsibility seriously.  Our legal system worked well under the very difficult circumstance presented by this case.  There are no winners when tragedies such as this occur, but the result was well-reasoned and fair based upon the law and facts presented.”

Deschutes County District Attorney Steve Gunnels declined any comment on the case, other than to say: "His death was a terrible tragedy for A.J. Clough’s family and friends."