6 Lawsuits Filed against Fyre Festival Organizers

Fyre Festival organizers Billy McFarland and Ja Rule. Photo courtesy of EW.

Summary: Six lawsuits have been filed against Ja Rule’s fiery ball of crap called the Fyre Festival.

The Fyre Festival was billed as a luxury event that would have Blink 182, celeb-catered food, beautiful lodging, and celebrities galore. Festival-goers reportedly paid anywhere from 1,000 to $250,000 to attend the two-weekend musical extravaganza on a private island in the Bahamas, but when they arrived on the first day in April, they were shocked. There were rabid dogs running around the camp, no running water, FEMA-like tents for housing, and food unworthy of a school cafeteria. The conditions were so awful that musical headliners Blink 182 pulled out, and the Instagram models who had promoted the event were nowhere in sight.

What was promised was clearly not what was delivered, and in days, lawsuits against the festival organizers, Ja Rule and Billy McFarland, began to pile up. So far, there have been six complaints filed, and we wouldn’t be surprised if more are on their way.

Lawsuit 1

Days after Fyre Festival’s disastrous opening, celebrity attorney Mark Geragos filed a $100 million lawsuit on behalf of guest, Daniel Jung. The class-action status seeker said that the musical event was advertised as a luxury experience, but it was more like “The Hunger Games or Lord of the Flies than Coachella.” In the lawsuit, Geragos blasted the Instagram influencers such as Kendall Jenner and Bella Hadid, who hyped the event with images that were nothing close to what festival-goers actually received.

Lawsuit 2:

The rich festival-goers experienced trauma being trapped on their Bahamas island without adequate lodging, food, and water; so it makes sense that a personal injury attorney would want to get in on the lawsuit action against the festival. Personal injury attorney John Girardi filed a lawsuit seeking class-action status on behalf of clients Chelsea Chinery, Shannon McAuliffe and Desiree Flores. Girardi alleged breach of contract, negligent misrepresentation and fraud against Fyre Festival organizers, Billy McFarland and Ja Rule.

Lawsuit 3:

Plaintiffs Matthew Herlihy and Anthony Lauriello said that they spent almost $2,000 a piece to attend the Fyre Festival–half of their money went to their ticket and the other half went to a wristband that they could use to buy things. The festival encouraged its attendees to go cashless and upload money onto wristbands, but when the guests arrived, there wasn’t anything to buy and without real cash, they couldn’t purchase goods outside of the festival, thus adding to their strandedness. The plaintiffs said that they have not yet been reimbursed for their wristband money and that they had personal items stolen because there wasn’t any security provided.

Lawsuit 4:

Representing himself, Andrew Petrozziello filed a breach of contract lawsuit in New Jersey against the Fyre Festival. Petrozziello said that he never made it to the island because he was stranded in Miami after his flight was canceled. He had paid $1,100, which included Festival entry and travel; but he said he was forced to buy his own ticket home from Miami. According to the lawsuit, Ja Rule and McFarland had promised people full refunds, but Petrozziello has yet to receive his money.

Lawsuit 5:

On Thursday, Nation Event Services filed a $250,000 breach of contract and fraud lawsuit against Fyre Festival. The company was hired to provide emergency medical services at the event, and they said that when they arrived they discovered that the campground was “uninhabitable.” The company said that they had set up a tent and tried to do their jobs, but there were not proper resources allocated to them. They also said that Ja Rule and McFarland had not secured proper insurance.

Lawsuit 6:

North Carolina couple Kenneth and Emily Reel filed a $5 million class-action-seeking lawsuit against Ja Rule, McFarland, public relations agency 42West LLC, and advertising company Matte Projects LLC. The couple said they had paid $4,599.84 for a two bed duo with a VIP upgrade, but that they were falsely misled with what they were given. Shortly after Fyre Festival’s terrible conditions surfaced on social media, the PR and advertising companies quickly began to delete their promotional posts, showcasing a beautiful experience that never flamed into fruition.