A California court ruled Jeezy and Live Nation are not responsible for the backstage shooting that took place at a concert in 2014.
On Tuesday, a California Court of Appeals ruled Live Nation entertainment company was not at fault for the shooting. If you’re not aware, event promoter Eric Johnson Jr. tragically lost his life while attending Jeezy’s Under the Influence of Music tour in August 2014.
Johnson’s family later filed a wrongful death lawsuit against Live Nation and weapon charges against Jeezy and others. The family claimed Live Nation were “legally negligent” for not having enough security in place to prevent the shooting.
However, the lawsuit against Live Nation was refused by the court due to the attack not being a “foreseeable” incident.
“A violent attack by and between artists and their guests in the backstage area of a performance is not a foreseeable occurrence against which Live Nation should have provided preventative measures of the nature plaintiffs suggest,” Justice Stuart R. Pollak wrote.
Nevertheless, the charges brought against the rapper were also dismissed during the ruling, mainly because the DNA on the gun did not match Jeezy’s nor the others in question.
“The reports did not indicate that any of the artists or their entourages engaged in or posed any danger of violence during the tour,” the judges said. “The head of security also indicated that in her more than 10 years at the amphitheater, there had not been any violent incidents backstage.”
Jeezy was ultimately arrested following the shooting and charged with illegal possession of a weapon. However, the charges were later dropped and no additional charges were ever filed against the rapper.