Sony Music Holdings has been ordered to pay $160 million in damages following the deaths of two people at a Cousin Stizz concert in Atlanta in 2017.
According to AllHipHop, a decision was reached on December 15, finding Sony partially at fault for failing to protect concert-goers. The amount also includes two other consolidated cases also suing Sony on similar grounds.
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The incident took place in November 2017, when a concert-goer at music venue Masquerade got angry that two people – later identified as Giovan Diaz and Ewell Ynoa – climbed onto the stage between performances. The angered attendee pulled out a gun and took aim at the stage, striking the two who had climbed up. One died at the scene, while the other later succumbed to their injuries after being taken to hospital.
Two other concertgoers were also shot by the suspect, but not fatally injured. The shooter was not caught in the moment, but he was later arrested and identified by police as 25-year-old Jonathan Bautista.
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In a tweet sent shortly after the shooting, Cousin Stizz posted his condolences to those killed.
“Completely heartbroken. Before I hit the stage in Atlanta tonight, there was a shooting in the crowd, two people died and two others were injured…I’m in shock and at a loss of words for the senseless violence,” he wrote.
The lawsuit was filed by the Beasley Allen Law Firm in June 2018. Sony, RCA Records, Live Nation and Masquerade were all named as defendants. In a statement, Beasley Allen explained how the verdict was reached.
“Obviously, these types of cases do not come around often. This was a mass shooting in a crowded concert,” the firm said. “There were multiple deaths, and Gio and Wells suffered significantly before losing their fight for life, as eyewitnesses outlined. The trial was incredibly emotional because of what these families, and the world, lost.”
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Allen continued: “One of these men had been told he would be a father just a few hours before the shooting happened. Combine that with the fact the concert endangered everyone, and this Defendant refused to participate in the legal process, and you get the type of verdict we saw here.”
The funds will be used to compensate the victims’ families. Sony has not yet commented on the verdict.
