[SML] Venue/Landlord pay millions for Circus Rigging error

[Bill Conner]

Interesting that the lawyers for this case were also leads on station
fire.  By their website, their two largest settlements, by significant
amounts.

On Sun, Dec 27, 2020, 12:56 PM Bill Conner <billconnerastc at gmail.com> wrote:

> Interesting but not surprising. Very likely the civic center and its
> management had much deeper pockets - more insurance - than Feld.  Seems
> like this may lead to more confrontations between venues and tours, since
> it seems to hold the venue responsible for the tour's work.  That assumes
> tours will resume someday.
>
> Lou, thanks for posting this.
>
> On Sat, Dec 26, 2020, 7:36 PM Lou Poppler via Stagecraft <
> stagecraft at theatrical.net> wrote:
>
>>
>> https://www.nytimes.com/2020/12/21/us/circus-acrobats-injured-settlement.html
>>
>> In Rhode Island in 2014, at a Feld "Ringling Bros" show, eight acrobats
>> fell
>> after a rigging failure.  (IIRC the entire rigged assembly supporting the
>> acrobats was suspended from a single carabiner which was cocked slightly
>> so that the load was not oriented along the long axis.)
>>
>> Later that year, OSHA issued a $7,000 fine — “the maximum fine allowed by
>> law”
>> — to Feld Entertainment.  Last Monday, lawyers for the acrobats settled
>> a lawsuit with the owner and operator of the arena where the performance
>> took
>> place, for $52.5 million (Rhode Island Convention Center, and SMG).
>>
>> The acrobats' lawyer said: "There are safety standards and safety
>> features
>> that were supposed to be in place for every event, no matter whether it’s
>> the circus, or whether you’re dealing with, you know, college
>> basketball,”
>> Mr. Mandell said. “Those were not used, they were not utilized for this
>> performance, and so that is where our claims against the arena derived
>> from.”
>>
>> My interest in all this, as a retired local crew high rigger (or sometimes
>> lead local rigger) is to suggest that we might need to be more assertive
>> about complaining, when we see the touring riggers or show management
>> rigging something in a questionable manner.
>>
>>
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>
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