Last December, the hip hop world suffered a massive loss with the death of Drakeo The Ruler, real name Darrell Caldwell, who was stabbed in the neck at Los Angeles’ Once Upon A Time Festival. Since then, his family filed a $20 million lawsuit against Live Nation, which was then raised to $60 million.
The lawsuit also names promotional partners Bobby Dee Presents and C3 Presents, as well as Banc of California Stadium owners Los Angeles Football Club. It cites the disaster at Astroworld the week before and accuses the promoters of negligence, claiming they did not place “the safety and wellbeing of its guests and its invited artists ahead of profits.”
On Tuesday, files were made public that show Live Nation arguing for negligence on the part of Caldwell’s brother Devante, as well as members of the brothers’ Stinc Team rap collective. In the demurrer obtained by Rolling Stone, Live Nation argue that they were not accountable for the “violent mob,” consisting of about 50 to 100 people with knives, that ambushed the rapper before he was supposed to take the stage. They also argued that no one “asked for additional security” or told promoters that Caldwell “faced threats and constant hostility from gang members.” Meanwhile, promoters argued that legally they were not required to prevent “third-party criminal conduct” since there were no “prior similar incidents.”