Live Nation is found not liable for 3 campers' deaths at Michigan music fest

BROOKLYN, Mich. — Concert promoter Live Nation isn't responsible for the deaths of three young men who succumbed to carbon monoxide poisoning from a generator while camping at a Michigan music festival in 2021, the state appeals court said.

Victims' families said the small campsites at Faster Horses contributed to hazardous conditions. But the court, in a 2-1 opinion, said blame doesn't rest with Live Nation, which managed the weekend country music event.

''Live Nation did not have a common-law duty to monitor plaintiffs' campsite and discover the risk posed by the generator,'' the court said last Friday.

Dawson Brown, 20; William ''Richie'' Mays Jr., 20; and Kole Sova, 19, died while inside a camper at Michigan International Speedway, about 80 miles (129 kilometers) west of Detroit. Authorities said they likely were asleep when they inhaled carbon monoxide. Two other people survived.

Michigan rules typically call for at least 1,200 square feet (111.5 square meters) per campsite, but the speedway — known as MIS — was allowed to create sites as small as 800 square feet if certain conditions were met, the appeals court noted.

Investigators determined that the generator's exhaust was vented under the trailer, which apparently allowed noxious fumes to get inside. A carbon monoxide alarm inside the trailer wasn't working.

There was no dispute that Live Nation distributed information to campers about the use of generators, the appeals court said.

A Lenawee County judge ruled in favor of Live Nation and dismissed it from the lawsuit. The appeals court affirmed that decision.

In a dissent, Judge Allie Greenleaf Maldonado said a jury should decide the case.

''There are questions regarding whether ‘an average person with ordinary intelligence would have' recognized the risks posed by this generator,'' Maldonado said, citing a Michigan legal precedent.