USC has been dismissed as a defendant in a wrongful death/negligence lawsuit filed against the university by relatives of Drakeo the Ruler, who was stabbed to death during a 2021 star-studded concert at what was then called Banc of California Stadium in Exposition Park.
Judge James Montgomery issued his ruling during a hearing Thursday in which he concluded that the plaintiffs’ suit had no triable issues concerning USC. Drakeo, 28, whose real name was Darrell Caldwell, was attacked after a fight broke out behind the main stage of the Once Upon A Time in LA music festival on Dec. 18, 2021. He died later at a hospital.
The lawsuit’s plaintiffs include Darrylene Corniel, Drakeo’s mother and the personal representative of his estate, and the hip-hop artist’s only son, a minor. Along with promoter Live Nation Worldwide Inc. and other entities, the suit’s defendants included USC.
The complaint was filed in February 2022 and alleges that USC and the other defendants failed to provide adequate security at the festival.
“Defendants, and each of them, were completely knowledgeable of the potential dangers posed to both their guests and the performers that they hired based upon numerous past incidents of violence and death at their hip hop events,” the suit states.
But university attorneys contended in their court papers that their client was not responsible for the entertainer’s safety.
“The backstage area where (Drakeo) was attacked was not a part of the Coliseum property, the Sports Arena property or any property leased or controlled by USC,” according to the USC attorneys’ court papers, which further stated that the zone was instead controlled and managed by the Office of Exposition Park Management.
“Moreover, USC was not involved in the production of the music festival itself,” the USC attorneys further maintain. “It was not involved in selecting the performers, setting the performance schedule or determining how many all-access passes any artist would be allocated.”
In his ruling, the judge said USC demonstrated that the location where the stabbing occurred was not owned, possessed or controlled by the university. Additionally, USC’s license agreement does not extend USC’s duty to provide security beyond the areas it owns, controls or leases, Montgomery further said.
“Even if USC had hired more security staff to patrol the areas it owned, it would not have changed the outcome of the subject Incident in areas it did not own, maintain or control,” the judge wrote.
Banc of California Stadium is now called BMO Stadium.
Drakeo was a Los Angeles native who released 10 mixtapes since 2015 and put out his first studio album titled “I Am Mr. Mosely” in April 2017.
Critics have cited his unique flow and “oddly expressive, poetic word choices.” The Los Angeles Times called him “the most original West Coast stylist in decades.”
Drakeo recorded the mixtape “Thank You For Using GTL” at Men’s Central Jail while awaiting trial in the 2016 killing of a 24-year-old man, according to The Times, which said he was acquitted of murder and attempted murder charges. Drakeo later pleaded to conspiracy charges in connection with the killing and was released in November 2020, the newspaper added.