Panish | Shea | Ravipudi LLP attorneys Brian Panish, Spencer Lucas, and Hunter Norton have filed a wrongful death lawsuit on behalf of the parents and siblings of Brandy Escamilla and Josilyn Ruiz, two Seattle nurses who were killed by an armed concertgoer at the 2023 Beyond Wonderland at The Gorge EDM festival.
Filed in King County, Washington, the lawsuit seeks to hold Live Nation, its subsidiary and event organizer Insomniac Holdings, LLC, as well as the security companies working the event accountable for their egregiously deficient conduct and security protocols that resulted in the tragic deaths of these two women and injuries to three other people
“Live Nation has the means and the duty to make sure security is the highest priority for their concert patrons. Never should someone’s life be taken so senselessly and tragically at a music event,” said the Escamilla and Ruiz families in a joint statement. “We hope filing this lawsuit sends a message to Live Nation and their associates that they are responsible for the deaths of Brandy and Josilyn. They are responsible for our broken and shattered lives. Our families will never recover from this loss, but we do not want their deaths to be in vain. This could have and should have been prevented.”
On June 17, 2023, decedents Brandy Escamilla and Josilyn Ruiz were attending Beyond Wonderland at The Gorge when they were shot by fellow concertgoer and active-duty member of the U.S. Army, James M. Kelly. The shooter had ingested hallucinogenic mushrooms, retrieved a handgun and ammunition from his vehicle which he’d parked at The Gorge Campground, and proceeded to open fire, striking several people and killing both Brandy and Josilyn who were walking nearby.
As alleged in the complaint, Live Nation and The Gorge had strict policies prohibiting the possession of drugs and weapons on its premises and campgrounds, and Live Nation woefully fell short in enforcing its policies. Live Nation systematically failed to meet its own standards and take reasonable steps to make the venue and campgrounds safe for concertgoers. Those failures cost Brandy and Josilyn their lives.
“All Brandy and Josilyn wanted to do that weekend was enjoy good music, dance, and unwind from the week but instead, they lost their lives and their opportunity to spend their lives together as they’d intended,” added the Escamilla and Ruiz families. “We now only have pictures of our beautiful girls to look at instead of being able to hold them in our arms again, hear their voices, and let them know how much they are loved. We never want any parent or family to have to go through what we have been through.”
Plaintiffs are also represented in the case by co-counsel, Kevin Boyle of Boyle Law.