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Blink 182 management removed from negligence case over Ohio show

By Chris Cooke | Published on Wednesday 17 July 2019

Management company the James Grant Group – rebranded as YM&U last year – has successfully had itself removed from a lawsuit in relation to injuries suffered by a security guard at a Blink 182 concert in Ohio back in 2016.

Kevin Darago was working at the Blossom Music Centre in Cuyahoga Falls, Ohio when Blink 182 played there three years ago. He was injured when a fan crowd-surfing in the mosh pit kicked him in the left eye, causing vision loss.

He then sued Blink 182, their promoter Live Nation and management outfit James Grant for negligence, on the basis they together failed to ensure his safety while working at the show. In particular, Darago pointed out that the venue’s own policy that bans crowd surfing had not been enforced.

According to Law 360, the management firm countered that, while it was involved in the booking of the show, it didn’t have any control over the running of the concert or the venue. Not only that, but it doesn’t have any on-the-ground operations in the state of Ohio. To that end it sought to have itself removed from the litigation.

And the judge hearing the case has now done just that. “There is nothing in the record to establish that James Grant had any control over the venue or any involvement with the actual performance by Blink 182”, she wrote.

She went on: “While it is not necessary that James Grant have been physically present in the forum to be subject to its jurisdiction, it cannot be said that the act of booking the concert in Ohio, alone, was sufficient to demonstrate that it purposefully availed itself of the forum”.

The case against Blink 182 and Live Nation will continue.