Susquehanna Sued

Live Nation and the Susquehanna Bank Center are facing a $1.4 million lawsuit from a man who was beaten outside a July 2010 concert at the Camden, N.J., venue.

According to court documents obtained by the local Courier-Post, Phillip Leroy’s suit accuses LN and co. of negligence and carelessness for failing to provide adequate security in the parking lot outside the venue before a Jack Johnson concert.

Leroy claims the incident occurred after he refused to buy a “visibly intoxicated” group of teens alcohol. While walking away from the group with a female friend, Leroy was hit from behind by one teen and knocked unconscious, the suit says. He allegedly suffered injuries including a fractured skull, nerve damage and a “near complete and permanent loss of hearing in the left ear.”

In a statement to the paper, LN noted that, “Unfortunately, as with any large public event, be it football, baseball or a concert, there are occasions where people are not on their best behavior.”

In other Susquehanna Bank Center news, a free country music festival and tailgate sponsored by local radio station WXTU at the amphitheatre got a little out of hand June 2.

Police arrested nearly 200 individuals from the crowd of 25,000 on disorderly conduct offenses, the Courier-Post reported, and 12 people were taken to local hospitals.

“We tripled the amount of arrests compared to last year and did a much better job of rapid deployments to address small disturbances from escalating into large scale events,” Police Chief Scott Thomson told the paper. “Our cops did an outstanding job in such a challenging environment with diminished resources.”

The city of Camden is reportedly planning to hire up to 110 seasonal officers to help patrol additional concerts this summer.