Gregg Allman removed as defendant in Midnight Rider civil suit

Rocker Gregg Allman has been dropped as a defendant in a civil lawsuit over the death of camera assistant Sarah Jones on the set of stalled biopic Midnight Rider.

Jones, 27, was fatally struck by a train while shooting scenes on a trestle in Georgia in February (14) and her parents launched legal action against executive producer Allman and the movie's producers, including director Randall Miller, in May (14), claiming filmmakers selected "an unreasonably dangerous site for the filming location" and failed to get the proper permission to shoot there.

A lawyer for Allman distanced the star from the legal action, insisting he had no involvement in the location selection, and now Richard and Elizabeth Jones have agreed to remove him from their lawsuit, along with executive producer Michael Lehman and bosses at the film's distributor Open Road Films.

The decision emerges two days after a Georgia judge granted a continuance to allow legal representatives for the Jones family and Open Road Films to work out a resolution between themselves.

The next hearing in the civil suit is set for 13 November (14).

Miller, his producer wife Jody Savin, executive producer Jay Sedrish and first assistant director Hillary Schwartz are all still listed as defendants.

All four are also facing criminal charges for involuntary manslaughter and criminal trespass. They have pleaded not guilty to the counts and are due to stand trial in March (15).

Production on the Allman Brothers biopic was halted immediately after Jones' death.