Live Nation is attempting to block a deposition of its CEO Michael Rapino over the deadly Astroworld festival in 2021, which left 10 people dead due to a crowd crush.
Live Nation has petitioned the Texas Supreme Court to block Rapino’s deposition, arguing that he did not have any involvement with the festival, nor its on-site operations. According to the company’s appeal, reported by Puck, Rapino did not have any “unique or superior personal knowledge” of the festival. The appeal also claimed Rapino did not attend the festival nor visit the grounds, and his communications were limited to only necessary executive duties following the event.
However, the plaintiffs argue that Rapino’s personal involvement is actually vital to understanding the festival’s planning and execution process, noting that Rapino was directly involved in booking Travis Scott for the festival and had knowledge of the rapper’s prior controversial concert behavior.
“Rapino’s personal involvement in the 2021 Festival must be evaluated in light of his years of experience with Scott,” the plaintiffs’ counsel wrote.
In the appeal, plaintiffs point to a warning from a security worker, Shawna Boardman, who believed that there was potential for fatalities at the event.
“I would want it on the record that I didn’t advise this to continue,” Boardman said. “Someone’s going to end up dead.”
Additionally, the appeal referenced an email Rapino had sent to Live Nation executive Brad Wavra following the concert crush. Wavra told Rapino that authorities hadn’t cancelled the second day, but there were several cardiac arrests and at least five people died.
“Let’s wait for confirmations on deaths once statement is made, we can decide,” Rapino responded in an email. “If 5 died we would cancel.”
The counsel noted that this email proves Rapino was a decision maker on whether or not to cancel the festival and “Plaintiffs want an opportunity to examine Rapino about it.” On the other hand, a representative for Live Nation said Rapino’s email showed he is “doing what one would hope any CEO would do: confirming that if there were deaths the show would be cancelled.”
| READ: Last Remaining Astroworld Wrongful Death Lawsuit Settled |
“This is not a case where the CEO merely received business reports and only had final policy authority,” the plaintiffs’ counsel wrote. “It is a case in which the witness has unique knowledge of key facts; there is no other way to discover those facts.”
In April, the Astroworld Trial Court first granted a motion for Rapino’s deposition, and Live Nation challenged the decision in an appellate court. However, the appeal was dropped after the Astroworld Plaintiffs’ Liason counsel withdrew the deposition when all 10 of the wrongful death suits were settled earlier this year. Then, in late June, a deposition was scheduled again for the remaining plaintiffs and Live Nation appealed again,
Earlier this year, news broke that organizers had doubts about the festival’s capacity before the event. According to new filings obtained by the Houston Landing, the event’s safety director Seyth Boardman told the festival’s operations director he was worried about cramming so many people in front of the main stage to see Scott perform, noting, “I feel like there is no way we are going to fit 50k in front of that stage.”
Reports also found serious issues with the site plan; an employee of the event production company BWG settled on a site plan that made room for 44,000 people in the general viewing area, plus 3,500 in a VIP area. However, if they had used the correct seven square feet per person standard, they would have known the site plan had capacity for 32,000 people in general admission and 2,500 people in a VIP pen, which marks a whopping 15,500 short of ticketed attendance.
One of the most staggering statements regarding the safety of the festival was made by a festival dispatcher in the command center just minutes before Scott took the stage.
“I would pull the plug but that’s just me,” the dispatcher wrote in a message that was just made public last year. “Someone’s going to end up dead.”
The first trial related to the injury cases stemming from the event, focusing on seven injury cases, were scheduled by Judge Kristen Hawkins for October 15. Around 2,400 injury cases are still pending, while over 4,000 plaintiffs filed hundreds of lawsuits after the tragedy.
