A talent booking company is seeking dismissal from a wrongful death/negligence lawsuit filed 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.
Attorneys for Bobby Dee Presents Inc. filed court papers Thursday with Los Angeles Superior Court Judge James Montgomery in advance of a July 16 hearing, arguing that there are no triable issues regarding their client because they were not responsible for keeping the late singer safe. The company was the booking agent for one of the headliners, Snoop Dogg.
“While decedent’s death is tragic, defendant BDP should not bear responsibility for any liability arising therefrom because BDP had no legal duty to protect decedent and engaged in no activity that could constitute the proximate cause thereof,” the BDP attorneys contend in their court papers.
BDP did not book Drakeo, did not have any involvement in organizing or producing the festival, did not have any responsibility for hiring security or establishing and implementing a security plan for the event and did not own the land on which the concert took place, the BDP lawyers further state.
The suit names multiple defendants. Montgomery granted a similar motion eliminating USC from the case in March.
The 28-year-old Drakeo’s real name was Darrell Caldwell. He 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, and 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. The complaint was filed in February 2022 and alleges that the 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.
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.