The remaining wrongful-death lawsuit filed after 10 people died during a fatal crowd crash at the Astroworld 2021 music festival has been settled, a lawyer said Thursday.
Jury selection in lawsuit filed by family of 9-year-old Ezra Blount, youngest killed during rapper's concert Travis Scottwas set to begin on September 10.
But S. Scott West, an attorney for Blount's family, said an agreement was reached this week.
Blount's family had sued Scott, Live Nation — the festival's organizer and the world's largest live entertainment company — and other companies and individuals connected to the event, including Apple Inc., which broadcast the concert live.
“The family will continue their journey to heal, but never forget the joy Ezra brought to everyone around him,” West said in an email.
Treston Blount, Ezra's father, had said that during the concert on November 5, 2021, his son was sitting on his shoulders when they were crushed by the crowd. Treston Blount passed out and when he came to, Ezra was gone. A frantic search ensued until Ezra was finally found in a Houston hospital, seriously injured. The boy, who was from Dallas, died several days later.
The lawsuit filed by Blount's family was one of 10 civil wrongful death lawsuits filed after the deadly concert.
Earlier this month, lawyers announced that the remaining nine wrongful-death lawsuits related to the concert had been settled.
The terms of the settlements in all 10 lawsuits were confidential.
The settlement of the lawsuit filed by Blunt's family was first reported by the Houston Chronicle.
Lawyers for Live Nation, Scott and others declined to comment on the case because of a gag order that limits what they can say outside of court.
About 2,400 personal injury lawsuits filed after the deadly concert remain pending. More than 4,000 plaintiffs filed hundreds of lawsuits after the Astroworld crowd was crushed.
During the crowd crush, those in attendance were packed so tightly that many could not breathe or move their arms. Those killed ranged in age from 9 to 27 years old. They died of compression suffocation, which one expert likened to being hit by a car.
Earlier this month, state District Judge Kristen Hawkins, who is presiding over the trial, scheduled the first trial on the personal injury cases for Oct. 15. This trial was to focus on seven personal injury cases. It was unclear Thursday whether that trial date would remain or be moved with the settlement of the Blount lawsuit.
So far, no lawsuits have gone before a jury. A wrongful-death lawsuit — filed by the family of 23-year-old Houston resident Madison Dubisky — was days away from trial earlier this month before it was delayed and then settled.
Attorneys for the plaintiffs in the lawsuits have alleged in court filings that the deaths and hundreds of injuries at the concert were caused by negligent planning and a lack of concern for capacity and safety at the event.
Scott, Live Nation and the others sued have denied those allegations, saying safety was their No. 1 concern. They said what happened could not have been foreseen.
After a police investigation, a grand jury last year declined to indict Scott, along with five others connected to the festival.
from our partners at https://www.billboard.com/business/legal/final-astroworld-wrongful-death-lawsuit-settled-1235692283/
