The organizers of the doomed Fyre Festival are now facing a $100 million lawsuit

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May 1, 2017 3:53 PM

The suit alleges that the "festival's lack of adequate food, water, shelter, and medical care created a dangerous and panicked situation."

Billy McFarland and Ja Rule, the organizers of Fyre Festival.

Fyre Festival organizers Billy McFarland and Ja Rule are facing a major lawsuit.

The pair, who attempted to put on a music festival in the Bahamas last weekend only to have it collapse before it began, are the target of a new lawsuit filed Sunday in the US District Court for the Central District of California, according to Variety.

The suit was filed by celebrity trial lawyer Mark Geragos, who is seeking class-action status with an anticipated 150 participants, according to Variety. The plaintiff is Daniel Jung.

The suit alleges that the "festival's lack of adequate food, water, shelter, and medical care created a dangerous and panicked situation among attendees — suddenly finding themselves stranded on a remote island without basic provisions — that was closer to 'The Hunger Games' or 'Lord of the Flies' than Coachella," according to Variety.

Jung is accusing the organizers of fraud, breach of contract, breach of covenant of good faith, and negligent misrepresentation, according to Variety. The suit is seeking at least $100 million in damages. This is based on an estimated 6,000 tickets sold for the festival. Ticket prices started at $1,200, though some reports say that prices for luxury packages ballooned to over $200,000.

Festivalgoers arrived on the island of Great Exuma on April 27 but found a lack of food, shelter, and organization. As it became clear that the luxury music festival would not happen as planned, efforts to leave were hampered by a lack of infrastructure for getting people off of the island.

The suit also mentions the models Kendall Jenner, Bella Hadid, and Emily Ratajkowski, who appeared in ads for the event. They are currently not a part of the complaint.

McFarland apologized to attendees in an interview with Rolling Stone on Friday. He promised refunds and a ticket to next year's festival, which he is still planning.

"We were overwhelmed and just didn't have the foresight to solve all these problems," McFarland said, adding that they were "a little naive" to think they could pull off the festival.

McFarland is also the founder of Magnises, a social-networking startup that charges members a $250 annual fee for discounted access to exclusive events. In interviews with Business Insider earlier this year, former members said the company offered them tickets to exclusive events like "Hamilton" or the Super Bowl but canceled shortly before them.

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