An Atlanta attorney who was sentenced this week to life in prison for killing his wife now faces a wrongful death lawsuit.

Claud "Tex" McIver was sentenced Wednesday to life in prison with the possibility of parole after he was convicted of murder in the September 2016 shooting death of his wife, Diane.

News outlets report that Mary Margaret Oliver, the administrator of Diane McIver's estate, authorized the wrongful death suit against McIver and Dani Jo Carter.

Carter was driving the McIver's SUV and Diane McIver was in the front passenger seat when Tex McIver shot his wife from the back seat. He has insisted the shooting was accidental.

Carter's lawyer, Lee Davis, said his client was surprised by the suit and didn't contribute to Diane McIver's death.