Over 1,500 Astroworld victims file lawsuits, seek $10 billion in damages

Houston metro-area attorney Brent Coon said his law firm recently filed lawsuits on behalf of 1,547 Astroworld attendees.

The mountain of lawsuits filed over Travis Scott‘s disastrous Astroworld Music Festival last month has grown even higher this week.

The latest complaints were issued by Houston attorney Brent Coon, who on Monday confirmed his law firm has filed more than 1,500 cases on behalf of Astroworld victims. Coon said he’s seeking $10 billion in damages on behalf of his clients.

A pedestrian crosses Main Street in front of a sign announcing the cancellation of Astroworld on Nov. 6, 2021, in Houston. (AP Photo/Michael Wyke)

“What happened at Astroworld was an unconscionable tragedy and it is important that justice is served for all those impacted,” the attorney wrote in a press release. “We will roll over every rock in this matter.”

The Astroworld death toll rose to 10 people in mid-November when 9-year-old Ezra Blount succumbed to his injuries after being trampled by concertgoers who rushed the stage at the event. Hundreds more were injured during the Nov. 5 concert.

By Nov. 14, more than 100 lawsuits had already been filed against Scott, event planning company Live Nation and other Astroworld organizers. Last week, the total rose to 275 lawsuits, according to TMZ.

Scott’s offer to pay some of the funeral costs of Astroworld attendees who lost their lives was rejected by several of the victims’ families in late November. Last week, the rapper’s attorneys issued a “general denial” for all related civil suits in court documents asking a judge to dismiss a specific suit filed by Astroworld concertgoer Jessie Garcia.

Ezra Blount, 9, posing outside the Astroworld music festival
This photo provided by Taylor Blount shows Ezra Blount, 9, posing outside the Astroworld music festival in Houston on Nov. 5, 2021. (Courtesy of Taylor Blount via AP)

Scott and Astroworld’s organizers have been criticized for not stopping the event sooner after it became clear people were getting hurt. Without naming Scott specifically, Coon said some Astroworld defendants’ public attempts to downplay their responsibility for the tragedy has been “terribly disappointing”.

“Anyone involved can at least temporarily stop an event when safety becomes a serious issue,” the attorney said. “The fact that not a single company or individual involved in this incident EVER made an effort to do so here, when it was readily apparent things were out of hand, is shameful.”

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