Live Nation Settles 9 Of 10 Astroworld Suits

Lawyers for Live Nation told a Texas judge that nine of the 10 wrongful death lawsuits filed against the company after the deadly crowd surge at rapper Travis Scott’s Astroworld festival in 2021 have been settled.

Jury selection was set to begin May 14 in the suit filed by the family of Madison Dubsiki, a 23-year-old who was one of the 10 people killed at the festival. During a pretrial hearing, however, the promoter’s attorneys said the company had settled the suit along with eight others. The judge had consolidated motion hearings for the cases because they largely share the same set of facts and defendants. In addition to Live Nation, the defendants include Scott, Apple and various subcontractors.

The terms of the settlement are confidential and lawyers are largely barred from speaking on the case outside of the courtroom due to gag orders. The only remaining suit is the one related to the death of 9-year-old Ezra Blount, the youngest victim.

“This case is ready for trial,” Scott West, an attorney for Blount’s family, told Judge Kristin Hawkins, who is presiding over the case. In addition to the wrongful death suits, more than 4,000 people filed injury suits, of which 2,400 or so are waiting to be tried.

Last week, Live Nation reporting an operating loss of $37 million for the first quarter, saying the loss is attributable to a $97 million reduction “comprised of accrual related to Astroworld litigation.”

The Dubiski case was put on hold after Apple, which was livestreaming the concert, won a stay from an appeals court after asking it be dismissed as one of the more than 20 defendants.

Settlements were already announced in four other cases, but Wednesday is the first time it was clear Live Nation had settled nine.

The deaths from the crowd surge were attributed to compression asphyxia. Lawyers for the plaintiffs say Live Nation, Scott and others were negligent; the defendants deny this and allege safety remained the top priority. A Texas grand jury refused to indict Scott and others on criminal charges last year.