Travis Scott's attorneys say the rapper wasn't responsible for safety at deadly Astroworld concert

HOUSTON, Texas -- Rapper Travis Scott's attorneys asked a Texas judge to grant his recently filed motion for summary judgment in the civil suit regarding the deadly 2021 Astroworld festival in Houston.

Scott headlined the concert, during which 10 people were killed as authorities and festival organizers responded to a massive crowd surge and tried to shut down the show.

Last week, the judge dismissed lawsuits against hip-hop guest performer Drake, along with several other individuals and companies involved in the show.

Scott's attorney, Steve Brody, presented the motion to Judge Kristen Brauchle Hawkins on Monday afternoon. She did not render a decision before the court was adjourned.

A motion for summary judgment asks the judge to determine if a material issue of facts exists and whether the case should proceed to trial.

In the motion, Scott's attorneys allege that the Houston rapper "acted diligently to protect against every reasonably apprehensible danger" and "supported festival organizers' efforts to eliminate" safety risks.

Brody said that his client's responsibility in the Astroworld Festival was to market the festival, perform, curate the talent lineup, his personal security, and approve creative materials.

He said Scott, whose real name is Jacques Bermon Webster II and is also known as "Cactus Jack," was not involved in the discussions regarding safety leading up to the show.

"Performers are not expected to render special protection to the audience, nor to safeguard them from the rest of the crowd," the motion said. "Performing artists, even those who engage in certain promotional activities, have no inherent expertise or specialized knowledge in concert safety measures."

As questions have arisen surrounding what was communicated to Scott during his performance and the decision not to stop the show sooner, Brody said the testimony is conflicting. He suggested that arguments have surrounded whether Scott should have stopped the show at 10 p.m. or 10:10 p.m. and noted that 23-year-old victim Madison Dubiski was in the medical tent receiving treatment at 9:55 p.m.

Brody suggested that sorting through the conflicting testimony regarding what was communicated to Scott would take up weeks of time during their upcoming trial and ultimately would not have altered the deadly outcome.

Hawkins questioned Brody regarding what issues Scott was able to see in the crowd that led him to stop the show a number of times and if he had the authority to stop the show.

During his response, he said there were a number of ways for someone who knew there was an issue to stop the show, including cutting the sound or turning on the house lights.

Attorneys for the plaintiffs wheeled 11 boxes into the courtroom for the motion hearing on Monday.

They showed excerpts from Scott's contract for the festival with Live Nation that said they would jointly manage and control the festival and that Scott had joint authority over the number of tickets sold.

Noah Wexler, an attorney representing the Dubiski family, showed that the documented occupancy for Scott's show was 44,217 but said 64,659 tickets were distributed in advance.

According to Wexler, concerns were raised ahead of the festival regarding the migration of festivalgoers from one stage to the other. Performers earlier in the day all performed on the same stage. Scott was said to be adamant about being the only person to perform on the Utopia Mountain stage.

Organizers expressed concern in texts and emails about getting everyone over to the stage ahead of Scott's performance.

Wexler showed communications between festival planners suggesting that they needed to have two stages playing simultaneously to make things safer, but that Scott refused.

A text from the show's producer was shown saying that it was the "most egotistical move I've seen at a festival."

According to Wexler, Scott's manager allegedly threatened the festival team, saying that Scott would post the names and contact information of anyone who tried to postpone or cancel his show on his social media.

Wexler argued that Scott had a "disregard for authority," and his behavior "demonstrates conscious indifference to the safety of his patrons and those in attendance that night."

He showed the court evidence that Scott was $4 million over budget on his stage design.

Several other defendants listed in the case also filed motions for summary judgments, including Apple, that live-streamed the concert.

After an investigation by Houston police, no charges were filed against Scott, and a grand jury declined to indict him and five other people on any criminal counts related to the deadly concert.

The trial is set in the case for May 6.

Some of the lawsuits filed by the families of the 10 who died and hundreds who were injured have been settled, including those filed by the families of four of the dead.

Associated Press writer Ken Miller in Oklahoma City contributed to this report.