All of the motions to get out have been decided.
A Harris County District Court judge denied rapper Travis Scott’s bid to be removed from the upcoming civil trial over the deaths and injuries that occurred at the 2021 Astroworld festival.
Judge Kristen Hawkins issued a series of orders Wednesday keeping the festival’s headliner as a defendant in the lawsuit, while also removing other defendants that had sought summary judgment.
[…]
Hawkins also ordered that ASM Global and its related companies, who manage NRG Park, remain as a defendant. The judge also rejected a second attempt by Apple Inc., to be removed from the litigation.
Seyth Boardman, the festival’s safety and risk director, was also denied summary judgment.
Hawkins granted summary judgement for Tri Star Sports & Entertainment Group and Unified Command LLC, removing them from litigation.
In a hearing last week, Scott and other parties in the sprawling lawsuit argued they should be dismissed because the suing victims had failed to show evidence showing them potentially responsible for the tragedy, or had failed on other matters of law.
It was the second such hearing held in Hawkins’ court. Earlier in the month, she issued another series of orders removing other defendants from the lawsuit, including the rapper Drake, who performed with Scott at the end of the concert.
The defendants who remain will likely now play a part in the first jury trial to occur over a death connected to the festival.
See here, here, here, and here for the background. The trial itself begins on May 6. It’s important to remember that this is just the first of the lawsuits filed over the Astroworld tragedy to be litigated. There are others, with many other plaintiffs, that will surely be affected by the outcome here. I’ll be keeping an eye on it.
Pingback: Apple appeal delays Astroworld trial | Off the Kuff