Drake Dismissed from Astroworld Tragedy Lawsuit
While Apple’s motion to dismiss was denied.
A Texas judge has dismissed Drake from litigation over the Astroworld tragedy. Per The Houston Chronicle, the rapper was dropped on Friday from a large class-action lawsuit filed in the wake of the 2021 Astroworld Festival. Drake made a guest appearance during Travis Scott’s headlining set at the Houston event, where a crowd crush left 10 dead and hundreds injured. Per a court filing obtained by USA Today, a Harris County District Court granted Drake’s request for a summary judgment and dismissed “all claims asserted against defendant (Drake) by all plaintiffs and intervenors in this multidistrict litigation.” His lawyers argued in March that he was not part of festival planning, did not receive any security briefings, and was not informed of any crowd control issues or stop show orders before or during his 14-minute cameo onstage.
Dozens of defendants, including Scott and Live Nation, were named in the suit. Drake and Scott’s label, Epic Records have both been dismissed. Meanwhile, the Associated Press reports that motions to dismiss filed by Apple (which livestreamed the event) and two companies associated with Scott were denied. The first trial is scheduled for May 6.
A Houston grand jury previously decided that Scott and several Astroworld Festival organizers would not face criminal charges. However, multiple civil lawsuits against Scott and other defendants were filed by attendees and their loved ones. The class-action that Drake has been dropped from was a consolidation of multiple claims.
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