HOUSTON (AP) — Nine out of 10 wrongful death lawsuits have been filed after deadly mobs escalate in Astroworld Music Festival 2021 An attorney said Wednesday that it had been settled, including the case that was scheduled to go to trial this week.
Jury selection was scheduled to begin Tuesday in a wrongful death lawsuit filed by a family Madison Dubeskya 23-year-old Houston resident who was one of 10 people killed during a stampede of crowds at the rap star’s concert on November 5, 2021. Travis Scott.
But Neil Mann, an attorney for Live Nation, the festival’s promoter and one of those being sued along with Scott, said during a court hearing on Wednesday that only one wrongful death lawsuit was still pending and the other nine have been settled, including one brought by the family. Dubieski.
Noah Wexler, the Dubieski family’s attorney, confirmed during the court hearing that their case “has been resolved in its entirety.”
The terms of the settlements were confidential and the lawyers declined to comment after the court hearing because of a gag order in the case.
“Mr. Ted Anastasio, the rapper’s representative, said Scott is grateful to have reached a resolution without the need for a trial. “The confidential agreement will honor Madison Dubieski’s legacy and promote improvements to concert safety.”
After Dubieski’s death, her family created a foundation called Pink Bows that focuses on improving safety at outdoor concerts and similar events.
The only wrongful death lawsuit still pending was filed by a family 9-year-old Ezra BlountThe youngest person killed during the ceremony. Lawyers in the lawsuit are scheduled to meet next week to discuss a trial date for the lawsuit filed by the Blount family.
“This case is ready for trial,” Scott West, the Blount family’s attorney, said in court.
But Mann said he and lawyers for the other defendants being prosecuted were not prepared.
State District Judge Christine Hawkins said she plans to discuss Blount’s case at a hearing next week along with potential prosecutions related to injury cases filed after the deadly party.
Hawkins said if the lawsuit against the Blount family is not settled, she is inclined to schedule that as the next trial rather than the injury case.
More than 4,000 plaintiffs filed hundreds of lawsuits after the concert. Mann said about 2,400 cases of infection are still pending.
The announcement that nearly all of the wrongful death claims had been settled came after the trial in the Dobieski case It has been suspended last week. Apple, which broadcast Scott’s concert live and was one of more than 20 defendants sued by Dobieski’s family, has appealed a court ruling that denied her request to be dismissed from the case. The Court of Appeal granted Apple a stay in the case.
In the days after the trial was halted, lawyers for the Dubieski family settled their lawsuit with all defendants in the case, including Apple, Scott and Live Nation, the world’s largest live entertainment company.
At least four wrongful death lawsuits have previously been settled and made public in court records. But Wednesday was the first time attorneys in the lawsuit provided an update that nine of the 10 wrongful death lawsuits had been resolved.
Lawyers for Dubieski’s family as well as attorneys representing various other plaintiffs have alleged in court filings that the deaths and hundreds of injuries at the party resulted from negligent planning and a lack of concern for capacity and safety at the event.
The ages of the dead ranged between 9 and 27 years He died from pressure asphyxiaOne expert likened it to being crushed by a car.
“As the youngest of the victims, the horror Ezra endured must have been unimaginable, as crowds tore him from his father’s shoulders and then crushed him, suffocating the life from his tiny body,” said Bob Hilliard, the Blount family’s attorney. Statement following Wednesday’s session.
Scott, Live Nation and the others sued have denied the allegations, saying safety is their first concern. They said what happened could not have been predicted.
After a police investigationa Grand jury last year He refused to charge Scott along with five others in connection with the festival.
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