A judge has delayed a decision on whether an out- of-state security guard company will remain a defendant in a lawsuit brought by two Southern California residents and a third from Arizona, who all allege they were injured in a stampede of panicking fans during the 2022 Lovers & Friends Music Festival in Las Vegas.
Santa Monica Superior Court Judge Mark H. Epstein ruled Tuesday that the plaintiffs can have more time to prove their contention that he has jurisdiction in the part of the case involving NPB Companies Inc.
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"In short, were the court to rule now, the court would grant the motion to quash," Epstein wrote. "But plaintiffs have asked to take jurisdictional discovery."
Epstein said the plaintiffs must demonstrate that the information they compile likely leads to evidence that establish jurisdiction over NPB.
"It could be that NPB did in fact affirmatively and actively advertise and promote the event here in California to a degree sufficient to establish personal specific jurisdiction, according to Epstein, who also noted that "odd as the doctrine may be to one who has not attended law school in the U.S., the doctrine of personal jurisdiction is deeply enshrined in our jurisprudence."
The May 14, 2022, concert attended by plaintiffs James Thomas and Carla Thomas of San Bernardino County and Aaliyah Aguilar of Tempe, Arizona featured Usher, Lil Kim, Ciara, Akon, T-Pain and Sean Paul. The three maintain the concert had insufficient security and medical personnel present.
The plaintiffs seek unspecified damages from multiple entities. The prime defendant is Beverly-Hills-based Live Nation Entertainment Inc., which promoted the event, as well as other entities associated with providing security and medical care. One such defendant is NPB, which was responsible for keeping the plaintiffs and the tens of thousands of in attendance safe, according to the plaintiffs' court papers.
But NPB lawyers maintain a California court has no jurisdiction over their client because it is based in Kansas and the festival occurred in Nevada.
Aguilar and Carla Thomas were sitting on the concrete ground during a lull between performances when a loud sound led many of the more than 31,000 in attendance to believe they had heard gunfire, the suit states.
"A sea of people ... then surged toward plaintiffs' location, pushing plaintiffs against the other attendees in the festival," the suit states.
The plaintiffs were then "pushed, smashed, dragged, kicked, stepped on, trampled and crushed to the ground" by the surging crowd, leaving them feeling "frightened, shocked, anxious and light-headed," the suit filed April 4 states.
The plaintiffs screamed for help from the event organizers and security, but none came and they were eventually able to get out of the festival grounds to safety, the suit states.
All of the plaintiffs were injured and Carla Thomas and Aguilar needed emergency medical care, the suit states. The three suffered fear of death as well as anxiety and depression, the suit states.
The hearing on NPB's motion to quash is scheduled to resume Feb. 28.
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