Snoop Dogg says in new court filings that his company was not in charge of the Los Angeles hip-hop festival where Drakeo the Ruler was fatally stabbed in 2021.
The argument came in a series of Tuesday (May 19) motions that seek to throw out wrongful death claims brought against Snoop’s company, Snoop Dogg’s LLC (SDLLC), over Drakeo’s killing. The rapper (born Darrell Caldwell) died of stab wounds after being attacked by a large group backstage at the Once Upon a Time in LA festival in December 2021.
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Drakeo’s family members later filed multiple negligence lawsuits alleging that various companies involved with Once Upon a Time in LA, including Live Nation and C3 Presents, were to blame for his death because they provided insufficient security at the event. Two of these lawsuits, brought by Drakeo’s mother and brother, claim SDLLC also holds some liability because it helped organize and promote the festival.
Snoop himself expressly denies this in his Tuesday declarations to the court. The rapper (Calvin Broadus Jr.), the controlling member of SDLLC, says in the filings that his company “had no role in management of the festival” and “did not supervise security personnel.”
Lawyers for SDLLC elaborate on this in accompanying legal memos, arguing that Snoop’s only written contract with Once Upon a Time in LA was a $500,000 performance agreement for the star’s one-hour set. According to the attorneys, that contract “does not require the artist to control the premises or manage the event.”
“The subject incident video itself confirms SDLLC’s lack of involvement,” read the memos. “The evidence shows that no employee, agent or representative of SDLLC was present at the backstage area at the time of the altercation.”
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SDLLC is asking a judge to enter a summary judgment order permanently ending its involvement in the litigation. Lawyers for Drakeo’s mother and brother did not immediately return a request for comment on Wednesday (May 20). They will likely respond to the summary judgment request in writing in the coming months.
If the allegations survive summary judgment, they’ll be part of a larger trial scheduled to begin this September on all the claims brought by Drakeo’s mother, brother and son over his death. In addition to SDLLC, the defendants include industry giant Live Nation and other concert promoters and security personnel from the festival. (Live Nation has denied any wrongdoing, saying Drakeo’s death was “unforeseeable.”)
The lawsuits also initially targeted the operators of BMO Stadium, which hosted parts of Once Upon a Time in LA. Judge James I. Montgomery threw out those claims earlier this month, however, ruling that Drakeo’s death occurred in a different section of the festival grounds not owned by the stadium.
