Artist Liability for Audience Injuries

In today's concert scene, high-energy music is often accompanied by audience members who engage in such physical, and sometimes dangerous, activities as crowd surfing, moshing and stage diving. What happens when a member of the audience is injured as a result of such conduct by another concertgoer?

The most recent court ruling on this issue involved the rock group Creed. Christa Harlow attended a 1998 show by Creed at the Webster Theatre in Hartford, CT. Harlow sustained face and head injuries when another concertgoer fell on her from the stage. She then filed a negligence suit in the Superior Court of Connecticut, Judicial District of New Haven, against the band members, the theater and others involved in producing the concert. The complaint alleged that the defendants had “permitted a highly dangerous and violent activity to persist, knew or should have known based on the genre of music and the typical behavior of its audiences that there was a strong likelihood that these dangerous activities would occur at the subject concert and place patrons, such as the plaintiff, at risk of injury.”

The band members moved for summary judgment. Harlow conceded that Creed had not controlled the theater and were not responsible for crowd control or providing security. On the issues of breach and causation, Creed argued that they hadn't engaged in unreasonable or dangerous conduct. The trial court, however, denied the band's summary judgment motion on the ground that there were material facts in dispute on this point. Harlow v. Cee-It-Live LLC, CV000270762S.

In its unreported opinion, the court noted that “the following questions must first be answered, based on the testimonial evidence, before deciding whether a reasonable person could only conclude that the Creed defendants did not engage in any unreasonable or dangerous conduct which could be construed as the proximate cause of the plaintiff's injury: 1) whether the patron who was pushed off the stage into the plaintiff created a superseding cause thereby relieving the Creed defendants from any liability; 2) whether the conduct of the Creed defendants was a substantial factor in bringing about the harm to the plaintiff.”

The court concluded: “While the evidence is slight, there is evidence that other persons had climbed on the stage and were being thrown from the stage and there is evidence that one or more members of the band were bending into the crowd and shaking hands with persons in front of the stage. From this a reasonable person could conclude that there was, on the part of the Creed defendants, a failure to address the escalating violence occurring on stage and right in front of the stage as the band performed which was a substantial factor in the incident that caused the plaintiff's injuries ' the unidentified patron being thrown off the stage.”

In today's concert scene, high-energy music is often accompanied by audience members who engage in such physical, and sometimes dangerous, activities as crowd surfing, moshing and stage diving. What happens when a member of the audience is injured as a result of such conduct by another concertgoer?

The most recent court ruling on this issue involved the rock group Creed. Christa Harlow attended a 1998 show by Creed at the Webster Theatre in Hartford, CT. Harlow sustained face and head injuries when another concertgoer fell on her from the stage. She then filed a negligence suit in the Superior Court of Connecticut, Judicial District of New Haven, against the band members, the theater and others involved in producing the concert. The complaint alleged that the defendants had “permitted a highly dangerous and violent activity to persist, knew or should have known based on the genre of music and the typical behavior of its audiences that there was a strong likelihood that these dangerous activities would occur at the subject concert and place patrons, such as the plaintiff, at risk of injury.”

The band members moved for summary judgment. Harlow conceded that Creed had not controlled the theater and were not responsible for crowd control or providing security. On the issues of breach and causation, Creed argued that they hadn't engaged in unreasonable or dangerous conduct. The trial court, however, denied the band's summary judgment motion on the ground that there were material facts in dispute on this point. Harlow v. Cee-It-Live LLC, CV000270762S.

In its unreported opinion, the court noted that “the following questions must first be answered, based on the testimonial evidence, before deciding whether a reasonable person could only conclude that the Creed defendants did not engage in any unreasonable or dangerous conduct which could be construed as the proximate cause of the plaintiff's injury: 1) whether the patron who was pushed off the stage into the plaintiff created a superseding cause thereby relieving the Creed defendants from any liability; 2) whether the conduct of the Creed defendants was a substantial factor in bringing about the harm to the plaintiff.”

The court concluded: “While the evidence is slight, there is evidence that other persons had climbed on the stage and were being thrown from the stage and there is evidence that one or more members of the band were bending into the crowd and shaking hands with persons in front of the stage. From this a reasonable person could conclude that there was, on the part of the Creed defendants, a failure to address the escalating violence occurring on stage and right in front of the stage as the band performed which was a substantial factor in the incident that caused the plaintiff's injuries ' the unidentified patron being thrown off the stage.”