Attorneys for Live Nation have announced that settlements were reached in nine wrongful death lawsuits pertaining to a disastrous crowd crush at Travis Scott's Astroworld Festival in 2021. A stampede of attendees took the lives of ten attendees, who all died from compression asphyxia. Hundreds of others were injured in the chaos. An estimated 50,000 people attended the festival.
This settlement arrives as another of the wrongful death lawsuits was set to begin jury selection earlier this week. The suit, which was filed by the family of victim Madison Dubiski, was settled before it could move further along in the courts.
This settlement is the third since the tragedy took place in November 2021. A $750 million lawsuit, filed on behalf of victim Axel Acosta and more than 120 other plaintiffs, was settled in October 2022. Another suit, filed by the family of Brianna Rodrigues, another victim, was settled the same year.
Other defendants in the various lawsuits filed in relation to the Astroworld Festival catastrophe include Apple, who livestreamed the show, and Travis Scott, who hosted and performed. Apple appealed a court ruling that denied the company's request to be dismissed from the case. The court ruled to grant Apple a stay in the case. The technology giant argued that it did not plan the festival, but was merely hired to livestream the event only three days before it began.
In 2023, a grand jury chose to not indict Scott. Instead, he will face a civil trial. Rapper Drake, who performed at the festival for less than fifteen minutes, was dismissed from the suit this April.
Ted Anastasiou, a lawyer of Travis Scott's, said that the rapper is "grateful that a resolution has been reached without the need for a trial."
He continued, saying that the "confidential agreement will honor Madison Dubiski's legacy and promote improvements for concert safety."
The defendants have consistently denied accusations that the festival was negligently planned and that there was a lack of concern regarding crowd capacity and event safety. They claim that the deaths and injuries caused by the massive crowd crush could not have been predicted nor expected.
Live Nation still faces one lawsuit, which was filed by the family of a the festival's youngest victim, 9-year-old Ezra Blount.
Kristen Hawkins, the State District Judge presiding over the case, will discuss the Blounts' case at an upcoming hearing next week. Should the family and Live Nation not settle the case by then, she is "inclined to schedule that as the next trial instead of an injury case."
There are roughly 2,400 injury suits being brought against Live Nation, and other defendants. After the concert, over 4,000 plaintiffs filed hundreds of suits.
Further information about the settlements is not available to the public.
© 2024 MusicTimes.com All rights reserved. Do not reproduce without permission.
