A third set of Fyre Festival attendees have filed a class-action suit against founders Billy McFarland and Ja Rule, alleging negligence, fraud, and violation of consumer protection law in their promotion of the luxe Bahamas destination festival that turned out to be little more than emergency shelters and cheese sandwiches on a darkened beach. Pitchfork has the full text of the complaint, which was filed in New York federal court last night.
Attendees Matthew Herlihy and Anthony Lauriello each paid $1,027 for their weekend tickets, including airfare from Miami, according to their lawsuit. They uploaded an additional $900 and $1,000 to their respective festival wristbands, which were supposed to enable a “cashless” event. Both men say they haven’t been able to access those funds since. Lauriello also claims he was robbed of his clothes and headphones on the island, “because Defendants failed to provide any security.”
The latest suit also details the “total chaos” of conditions on the beach: “Upon the arrival of guests to the island of Great Exuma for the first weekend, the island was lacking basic amenities, was covered in dirt, and guests had to sleep in tents with wet blankets,” the complaint reads. “There were no communal bathrooms or showers, but instead only three showers and a porta potty every 200 yards, which was woefully insufficient for the large number of festival attendees. The food was unappetizing and there were no on-site medical services. Additionally, there were no other basic amenities like soap, sunscreen and shampoo, and no electricity.”
You can read the full text of the lawsuit, complete with obligatory cheese sandwich photo, at Pitchfork.
