HOUSTON — A Houston judge denied a motion to dismiss rapper Travis Scott and others from the class action lawsuit in the Astroworld Festival tragedy. It appears that the paperwork was signed on Tuesday, about a week after the judge spent hours listening to arguments on whether Scott should or shouldn't be dismissed.
The lawsuit targets Scott and other companies like Apple Music and concert promoter Live Nation. Rapper Drake, who was a guest performer during the festival, was also named in the lawsuit, but a judge cleared him from liability last week.
In November 2021, a crowd crush at the festival killed 10 people and injured hundreds of others. A month after the tragedy, a judicial board ruled that the more than 300 lawsuits filed against Scott, Drake, and companies who helped organize the festival would be consolidated and handled by one judge. The consolidated lawsuit totaled $2 billion.
District Court Judge Kristen Hawkins heard more than three hours of arguments last Monday. Attorneys representing the people killed and injured at the festival made their case as to why Scott should remain a defendant in the high-stakes civil suit. Scott's attorneys argued the rapper's primary role at the festival was as a performer. They say that means he can't be held responsible for planning and security.
Several of Scott's co-defendants were against the rapper being dismissed from the case.
Attorneys for Apple Inc. and ASM Global, the company that manages NRG Park, were also hoping to be dismissed from the case.
A lot of money could be on the line as this lawsuit moves closer to trial, which is set to begin on May 6.