May 01, 2017 at 05:48PM
Fyre Festival organizers Billy McFarland and Ja Rule are facing a major lawsuit.
The pair who attempted to put on a music festival in the Bahamas last weekend, only to have it collapse under its own weight before it even began, are the target of a new lawsuit filed Sunday in the US District Court for the Central District of California, according to Variety.
The suit was filed by celebrity trial lawyer Mark Geragos, who is reportedly seeking class-action status with an anticipated 150 participants. It was brought in California by plaintiff Daniel Jung.
The suit alleges that 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."
Jung is suing for fraud, breach of contract, breach of covenant of good faith, and negligent misrepresentation on the part of the organizers, totaling at least $100 million in damages. This is based on an estimated 6,000 tickets sold for the festival. Ticket prices ranged from $450 to $12,000, though some reports claim that prices for luxury packages ballooned to over $100,000.
Festivalgoers arrived to Great Exuma, the Bahamian island where the Fyre Festival was supposed to be held, on April 28, only to find a complete lack of food, shelter, and organization. As it became clear that the luxury music festival would not happen as planned, escape plans were hampered by a lack of infrastructure that could get people off of the island.
The suit also mentions Kendall Jenner, Bella Hadid, and Emily Ratajkowski by name, as the models appeared in ads to generate ticket sales for the event. The models are not yet a part of the complaint.
McFarland apologized to attendees in an interview with Rolling Stone on Friday. He promised refunds and a ticket to next year's festival, which he is still planning.
"We were overwhelmed and just didn't have the foresight to solve all these problems," McFarland told Rolling Stone, claiming he was "a little naive" to think he could pull off the festival.
McFarland is also the founder of Magnises, a social-networking startup that charges members a $250 annual fee for discounted access to exclusive events. In interviews with Business Insider earlier this year, former members said that McFarland's company offered them tickets to exclusive events like "Hamilton" or the Super Bowl, only to cancel shortly before the event was set to take place.
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