Disastrous Music Festival Now Facing $100M Lawsuit

Fyre Festival organizers Billy McFarland and Ja Rule hit with class-action litigation
By John Johnson,  Newser Staff
Posted May 1, 2017 1:25 PM CDT
Disastrous Music Festival Now Facing $100M Lawsuit
This photo provided by Jake Strang shows tents and a portable toilet set up for attendees for the Fyre Festival in the Bahamas.   (Jake Strang via AP)

If organizers of the music-festival-turned-disaster known as the Fyre Festival had hoped to make a quick buck, their strategy may be backfiring in a big way. Rolling Stone reports that an attendee/survivor has filed a $100 million class-action lawsuit against festival creators Billy McFarland and rapper Ja Rule, aka Jeffrey Atkins. The complaint ticks off a by-now familiar litany of complaints about the supposedly luxurious getaway in the Bahamas that saw everything that could go wrong do so in spectacular fashion. And one big problem for McFarland and Ja Rule is that their well-heeled clientele can afford big-name lawyers.

"The festival's lack of adequate food, water, shelter, and medical care created a dangerous and panicked situation among attendees—suddenly finding themselves stranded on a remote island without basic provisions—that was closer to The Hunger Games or Lord of the Flies than Coachella," the lawsuit states. Celeb attorney Mark Geragos filed the suit on behalf of attendee Daniel Jung, who wants $5 million for alleged fraud and breach of contract, reports Variety. Geragos anticipates about 150 others will join the suit. McFarland and Ja Rule have apologized, promised refunds, and vowed to be back better than ever in 2018. (More music festival stories.)

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