The first trial in the Travis Scott concert death case has been delayed

HOUSTON (AP) – The start of the first civil trial related to the 2021 Astroworld festival, where a violent crowd killed 10 people, has been delayed.

Jury selection was scheduled to start next Tuesday in a wrongful-death lawsuit filed by the family of Madison Dubiski, the 23-year-old Houston woman who died while crowding Scott’s Nov. 5, 2021, concert at rap superstar Travis.

But Apple Inc., considered one of greater than 20 defendants who will go on trial next week, filed an appeal this week, mechanically delaying the start of jury selection.

“Unless I hear otherwise, the trial will be stayed,” state District Judge Kristen Hawkins said during a court hearing Thursday.

Apple, which livestreamed Scott’s concert, is appealing Hawkins’ ruling that denied the company’s motion to dismiss the case. Apple argues that under Texas law it may appeal Hawkins’ ruling because its defense claims are made in part due to its presence in electronic media.

Apple argues that by livestreaming Scott’s concert, he acted like a member of the electronic media and his actions deserve free speech protection.

“We maintain our position that our conduct is protected by the First Amendment,” Kent Rutter, considered one of Apple’s lawyers, told Hawkins during a court hearing Thursday.

Just before the hearing ended, Hawkins said she was notified that earlier Thursday, an appeals court had denied a request by Dubiski’s family lawyers to lift the suspension.

Jason Itkin, considered one of Dubiski’s family lawyers, said he plans to appeal the denial, possibly to the Texas Supreme Court.

Featured Stories

Lawyers for Dubiska’s family maintain that her death was the results of lapses in planning and an absence of concern for the variety of seats at the event. Its lawyers argue that the way Apple placed cameras around the concert venue affected the placement of barriers and limited the available audience space at the foremost stage.

Rutter argued that she was broadcasting an event of “significant public importance” and that in doing so she was acting as a member of the media and gathering news.

Itkin said Apple describes itself in business documents as a smartphone and computer company but makes no mention of stories or reporting. He added that the company’s Apple News app is a subscription service that aggregates stories from other news organizations.

“This is not a matter of freedom of speech. They know it,” Itkin said.

During the hearing, Hawkins seemed skeptical of Apple’s claims of being a member of the electronic media and asked Rutter whether if a zoo hosted a live broadcast to view the animals, it will make news.

“Yes, it would,” Rutter said.

After the concert, over 4,000 plaintiffs filed a whole bunch of lawsuits. Dubiski’s case was chosen by the attorneys in the court proceedings as the first to be considered. More than 20 defendants went on trial on Tuesday, including Scott, Apple and Live Nation, the festival’s organizer.

After a police investigation last yr, a grand jury declined to indict Scott and five others related to the festival.