Ticket Vendor Tablelist Sues Fyre Festival Organizers for $3.5 Million
The ticketing vendor Tablelist has filed the latest lawsuit against the organizers of Fyre Festival, Billboard reports. The Boston-based start-up is seeking $3.5 million to refund its customers, claiming the promoters of the disastrous event in the Bahamas have yet to repay “a penny” to clients.
The suit was filed in Suffolk County Superior Court in Boston and names Fyre organizers Billy McFarland and Jeffrey “Ja Rule” Atkins, marketing director Grant Margolin and financial backer Carola Jain as defendants. They are accused of breach of contract and fraudulently deceiving Tablelist and ticket purchasers.
“We filed suit only after it became apparent to us that those behind Fyre Festival weren’t being square with us or our customers,” Tableist CEO Julian Jung tells Rolling Stone in a statement. “I understand the anger that so many ticket purchasers feel. In fact, we share their anger and outrage. We are convinced that McFarland and the Fyre team weren’t simply incompetent in hosting the event. We believe that they went into this project with intent to defraud us, the ticket purchasers and countless other vendors.
“The scope of the vision that they created in pitching this event to us was far too broad and polished, and in such contrast to reality that it had to be an intentional ploy to deceive,” Jung adds. “We hope the courts will agree and hold them accountable … I am devastated that McFarland and Fyre could potentially crush all we’ve done with this cynical act of greed and hubris.”
A representative for Fyre Festival did not immediately respond to a request for comment.
While Tablelist is an app that helps users secure tickets to and tables at top-tier nightclubs, its lawsuit mirrors the language of the many other complaints filed against Fyre Fest. For instance, Tablelist accused Fyre organizers of conducting “a fraudulent, highly orchestrated scheme” and called out the festival’s infamous marketing campaign, which the company said convinced them to partner with Fyre.
Per Tablelist, Fyre organizers claimed they were “well-organized and well-funded, pointing to high-profile celebrity endorsements, headlining musical acts, significant sponsorship deals, and held a competitive bid process for the ticketing vendor role.”
Tablelist claims they sold over $3.5 million in tickets and VIP packages, the majority of which they handed over to Fyre Festival. The company retained 10 percent in escrow in case of any credit card chargebacks, refunds or transaction fees – though that amount apparently falls far short of what’s needed to refund the countless attendees trying to get their money back. After Fyre fell apart, Tablelist demanded the festival return the money from ticket sales, but claim organizers have yet to follow through on their promise to refund all attendees in full.
On top of the $3.5 million for refunds, Tablelist is also seeking damages to its business, claiming they had to lay off 40 percent of their workforce in order to focus on litigation against Fyre Fest.
Along with Tablelist’s lawsuit, Fyre Festival organizers are facing multiple potential class action lawsuits filed by individual attendees – including one spearheaded by celebrity lawyer Mark Geragos – and one from the company that was hired to provide medical services at the festival.