The start of a trial over injuries suffered during the 2021 Astroworld concert has been delayed until February, after more than 300 of the plaintiffs reached settlements with LiveNation and concert headliner Travis Scott, one of the lawyers involved in the massive litigation said.
The settlements does not end the civil proceedings stemming from the concert tragedy, where masses of people were crushed together and some killed as Scott performed, but will require a host of lawyers to designate another round of so-called bellwether plaintiffs to test the strength of the remaining cases.
The result of the first trial could determine how much other victims receive in future trials or settlements.
Court filings show six cases, with two alternates, were set for trial this week. Records about the settlements, and on which cases, were not immediately available.
Scott West, who represented Ezra Blount, Astroworld’s youngest casualty in the wrongful deaths suits, said hundreds of cases, including his own, remain.
The bulk of the cases were settled with an undisclosed lump sum Friday and earlier this month, with West saying the dollar amounts weren’t addressed in court. Special masters appointed in the cases will divide the funds based on their claims.
“All cases are not created [equal],” West said. “We may have somebody who’s had double neck surgery and somebody who had a broken arm. Those cases don’t have the same value.”
The remaining plaintiff lawyers will decide which suits will be set for trial in February. West pointed to a recent ruling by the Supreme Court of Texas ordering the deposition of Live Nation CEO Michael Rapinoe to proceed, likely by then. The company tried to prevent it with a petition for writ of mandamus.
See here and here for some background. All of the wrongful death cases were settled before going to trial, and it won’t surprise me if the same thing happens here. There’s still a lot that has to happen for that, but it’s what I expect.