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Park City Couple Sues Companies In Connection With Their Sons Fatal Drug Consumption

The parents of a Park City teenager who died in 2016, after ingesting the synthetic opioid known as "pink", have filled a lawsuit in federal court against the international companies who allegedly produced, sold and mailed the drug.

James and Deborah Seaver are asking for more than $10 million dollars in damages after the death of their 13-year-old son, Grant.

The lawsuit was filed last week in U.S. District Court, almost two years to the day after Grant Seaver died from ingesting the drug U-47700.

The filing said Grant died September 11th 2016 after two of his friends, minors identified as "C.S" and "J.A." bought the drug, earlier that summer, though AlphaBay, a website which was allegedly the largest "dark web" seller of controlled substances of illicit drugs, between 2014 and 2017.

The founder of the website was Canadian citizen Alexandra Cazes who according to news reports, apparently killed himself in a jail cell in Thailand after international authorities shut down the site in 2017.

The lawsuit is naming his Estate as the lead defendant.

The suit said that Chinese labs are the primary source for "pink" which is a fentanyl product, and it names as a defendant the "China Postal Express and Logistic Company", a corporate or government entity for distributing the drug.

AlphaBay allegedly operated with anonymity for its customers by being accessed through a computer network known as The Onion router, or the TOR network, based in Massachusetts. The TOR network only made sales using crypto-currencies, such as bitcoin.

Also named as a defendant was EMS, a global service based in Switzerland, which delivered the drugs.

The lawsuit contends that the defendants knew, or should have known, that U-47700 was many times more potent than morphine and that ingesting almost any amount could cause death. They also should have known that minor children, were purchasing the drug.

The defendants are being sued on the grounds of "Product Liability" "Gross Negligence", "Abnormally Dangerous Activity" and "Civil Conspiracy".

Grant Seavers death was shortly followed by that of his friend, 13-year-old Ryan Ainsworth.

The Seavers are also suing in Third District Court against the parents of four of Grant's friends, including the Ainsworths, and a 17-year old Park City High girl who's facing charges of drug distribution in juvenile court.

Known for getting all the facts right, as well as his distinctive sign-off, Rick covered Summit County meetings and issues for 35 years on KPCW. He now heads the Friday Film Review team.
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