Ja Rule Hit With a Personal Injury Lawsuit Over Fyre Festival
Rapper Ja Rule and other event organizers have been slapped with a personal injury lawsuit over the disastrous Fyre Festival event.
Guests, who paid $12,000 for a ticket, arrived at Bahama’s Great Exuma island to find that the accommodation they were promised did not exist. Guests were forced to stay in disaster relief tents until they could be flown off the island.
The Fyre Festival was supposed to feature live performances from musicians Major Lazer, Migos and other entertainers.
Plaintiffs Shannon McAuliffe, Chelsea Chinery and Desiree Flores have filed a lawsuit against the event organizers for breach of contract, fraud and negligent misrepresentation.
Photo/Nodar Kherkheulidze via wikimedia commons
The class-action suit was filed in Los Angeles County Superior Court on Tuesday. The plaintiffs allege that the event organizers duped people into purchasing tickets after paying more than 400 people to promote the event on social media.
The suit also alleges that the celebrities who promoted the event violated FTC regulations because they failed to disclose that they had were compensated for advertising the event.
Among the celebrities who promoted the event were Emily Ratajkowski, Hailey Baldwin, Kendall Jenner, Bella Hadid, Mike Thomas, Anastasia Ashley, Julia Kelly and Corbin Kelly.
A leaked business plan for the event also showed that event organizers had also planned to involve Lil Wayne, Jamie Foxx and Iggy Azalea in the promotion.
Other festival goers are considering filing personal injury lawsuits.
Festival organizers have been hit with three class-action lawsuits as of Wednesday.
According to Variety, the plaintiffs claimed their luggage had been “thrown haphazardly from shipping crates to the beach,” and the accommodations described as luxurious turned out to be “tents used by the Federal Emergency Management Agency in times of disaster.”
The three festival goers who filed the suit say the crowd grew panicky, as they were stuck on the island with no way to get home.
The three plaintiffs are California residents, and the suit cites the California Business and Profession Code, Variety says. If found guilty, the event promoters may be barred from or limited in promoting future concerts in California.
Another plaintiff seeking to join the class-action lawsuit was physically injured on the island and suffered a fractured ankle.
Attorney Mark Geragos earlier in the week filed a breach of contract and fraud lawsuit against Billy McFarland and Ja Rule, event organizers.
It is possible that the suits may eventually be joined since they all share common interests. Federal class action law may apply.
Ja Rule, Billy McFarland and Bella Hadid have all apologized for the disastrous event.
Author: Jacob Maslow
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