That’s a big number, though that’s partly because there are a lot of plaintiffs.
A local law firm has just filed the largest suit to date against Travis Scott’s Astroworld Festival after the mass-casualty tragedy that claimed the lives of 10 concert-goers. Attorney Brent Coon is demanding $10 billion in restitution on behalf of 1,547 attendees — that’s more petitioners than any firm thus far.
Additionally, Coon’s firm, Brett Coon & Associates, has filed a request with the Harris County District Court system to consolidate all cases involved into one courtroom to provide for more efficient management of the docket on behalf of all claimants, per a press release. A hearing is scheduled for December 13, 2021.
Aside from the mammoth suit, Coon notes in a statement that he is demanding legislative action to include crowd control planning specialists to certify events, mandated training programs for event preparation and criminal liability for any wrongdoing.
[…]
Coon’s suit comes after a $2 billion filing by San Antonio lawyer Thomas J. Henry and a $750 million petition by Houston attorney Tony Buzbee.
See here for some background, and here for the Chron story. I assume the mention of consolidating the cases is a reference to the many others that have been combined and will be heard in Harris County via the Texas Multidistrict Litigation Panel.
Not much else to add to that story, so let me note a couple of other AstroWorld items that I didn’t put into their own post. First up, Travis Scott is seeking to be dismissed as a defendant from eleven lawsuits.
Houston rapper Travis Scott has responded to 11 lawsuits launched against him in the deadly Astroworld festival tragedy denying all liability and requesting he and his record label Cactus Jack Music be dropped as defendants, according to court documents.
Scott, whose real name is Jacques B. Webster II, has been named in hundreds of lawsuits totaling billions of dollars since the tragedy that took 10 young lives on Nov. 5. Scott’s attorney Ed McPherson issued a “general denial” on his behalf to allegations claiming he was to blame for the deaths and injuries of concertgoers.
Scott is also requesting the claims be “dismissed with prejudice” so that once finished, cases cannot be refiled.
Representatives with Scott’s legal team said in an email to the Chronicle that the request is “a standard response to the plaintiff filing and reiterates what’s already been out there that Travis is not legally liable.”
One of the 10 victims, 22-year-old Texas A&M student Bharti Shahani, died nearly a week post-festival after succumbing to injuries that left her on a ventilator. Her family filed suit against Scott and festival organizers and refused to accept Scott’s financial assistance for funeral expenses. Their lawsuit is one of the 11 Scott’s lawyers responded to.
Not clear to me from the story why Scott is taking this action in only eleven lawsuits, or why these specific eleven lawsuits. Maybe they have something in common, maybe they were just first in line, maybe he’s in settlement talks with the others, maybe full dismissal will be sought for others. I have no idea, but given the high-powered legal team working for Scott and Live Nation, I’m sure this is just a first step.
Other AstroWorld stories that I have skimmed but not found anything original to say about:
8 biggest revelations from the Houston Chronicle’s in-depth Astroworld investigation
This story will be with us for a long time.
How do I get in on this $6.46M/plaintiff lawsuit ?
We live in a world where evil seems to often overwhelm decent people, I am filled with sorrow and rage. Please post something about the jail attack. I am aware of the details and my heart is broken.
Greg, the Harris County Jail is the 3rd largest in the US. When the City/County houses 10,000 inmates (20 jails in Houston, 30 jails total in Harris County) and the folks are, for the most part, bad seeds, what happened the other day will ultimately happen again.
C.L., I worked at the HCJ for 30 years (retired in 2019 – see link below).
https://www.jointprocessingcenter.com/about-greg-summerlin
This type of incident has never happened before in the HCJ and, I’m sure Sheriff Gonzalez would agree, it shouldn’t have happened now. In a properly run jail with adequate resources, this is not evitable, nor is it just the cost of doing business.
Given my background, I admit this hit me pretty hard. I posted my thoughts on my HarrisCountyDemocrats.com blog, but wanted Charles / Offthekuff to also weigh in. Sheriff Gonzalez and Commissioners Court need to get the county jail issues resolved. This incident, combined with the pending employee federal class-action lawsuit, are sure to have political ramifications next year.
https://www.harriscountydemocrats.com/post/hcj-inmate-beats-and-rapes-a-hcso-sergeant-our-rage-and-grief-must-fuel-needed-change
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