The legal headaches for the organizers of the epic fail Fyre Festival keep piling up. The seventh known action against co-creators Ja Rule (born Jeffrey Atkins) and Billy McFarland was filed in Manhattan on Tuesday (May 9) by two disgruntled attendees, Sean Daly and Edward Ivey, who claim in their class-action lawsuit that the two engaged in breach of contract, negligent misrepresentation of claims, unjust enrichment and violation of New York state business law.
According to a copy of the suit obtained by Pitchfork, the suit claims that organizers kept offering VIP upgrades and encouraging attendees to put money on their cashless “Fyre Band” bracelets even after it was clear there would be no concert. It also alleges that they told artists — which included Blink-182, Migos and Major Lazer — that the festival had been canceled well before attendees were informed.
“When Defendants [McFarland, Ja Rule, and Fyre Media] became aware before the start of the festival that it would not actually happen, they notified the scheduled performers and certain festival employees not to fly out for the event,” reads the complaint, which refers to the festival site as a “massive disaster area” that lacked adequate food, water, shelter and medical care. “However, Defendants did not notify Plaintiffs [Daly and Ivey] or the thousands of festival-goers who showed up at the event that it was canceled. Instead, Defendants were actively trying to sell upgraded VIP tickets to existing ticket holders.”
Among the other claims in the suit, which mirror complaints in a number of the other half dozen actions filed so far are the following: “Defendants represented, among other things, that (1) the Fyre Festival would take place on a private island; (2) the island was previously owned by infamous drug lord Pablo Escobar; (3) food and beverages would be provided, including VIP food packages and upgrades; (4) the living quarters would be fully furnished permanent structures; and (5) the event would be attended by celebrities, and that top-level musical talent would be performing.” Needless to say, the suit adds, all of the above proved to be “completely false.”
As with several of the other suits, the latest action also claims that the promised ticket refunds have not yet materialized and the money uploaded to the proprietary Fyre Band cashless system has also not been returned.
Click here to see the suit.