A judge finalized a ruling denying a new trial to DJ Skrillex, who was sued by a fan who said she suffered a stroke days after the DJ, record producer and musician leapt on top of her from a downtown Los Angeles stage in 2012.
Los Angeles Superior Court Judge Daniel Murphy said all parties received an equitable chance to present their cases.
“As such, the court finds that there was not an error in law occurring at the trial nor was there an irregularity in the proceedings of the court, an order of the court or an abuse of discretion by which either party was prevented from having a fair trial,” Murphy wrote in a 22-page ruling issued Monday.
Murphy heard arguments on April 17, then took the case under submission. The final decision affirmed his earlier tentative ruling that also denied Skrillex a new trial.
On Nov. 20, a jury awarded a total of $4.5 million to 32-year-old Jennifer Fraissl, but $675,000 was deducted from that amount because Fraissl’s negligence was apportioned at 15 percent.
Under the jury’s verdict, Skrillex and his company, Lost Boys Touring Inc., will have to collectively pay $3.4 million, while the remainder, about $450,000, will be the responsibility of Belasco Entertainment Theater Inc. Belasco also had asked for and was denied a new trial.
Fraissl, of Morgan Hill in Santa Clara County, sued Skrillex, whose real name is Sonny John Moore, and the other defendants in February 2014. She testified she suffered a stroke 16 days after the Feb. 11, 2012, show at the Belasco Theater.
She told the jury that she was standing near the front of the crowd when Skrillex beckoned fans forward, making it hard for her to leave or protect herself. She said Skrillex unexpectedly jumped from his table several feet above the stage and landed on the back of her head.
In their court papers, attorneys for Skrillex and Lost Boys state that Fraissl was aware Skrillex, now 31, jumped from the stage during a Las Vegas show she attended and that she assumed the risk she could be injured when the DJ did the same thing at the Belasco.
Defense attorney Barry Thompson used video footage of his client’s leap to pinpoint for the jury how close Fraissl was to the stage and how she was grinning after he jumped into the crowd. But Fraissl said she was happy and having fun before the jump and that her expression should not be construed as her having approved it.
>> Want to read more stories like this? Get our Free Daily Newsletters Here!
Follow us: