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Woman Beaten at RÜFÜS DU SOL Concert Sues Venue, Attacker

The victim and her fiancé were attending the Australian electronic group’s Rose Bowl concert on August 16th when the attack occurred

RÜFÜS DU SOL live

Boaz Kroon

Trigger warning: The following article contains references that may be triggering. If you’re struggling, please know help is available to you, contact Lifeline on 13 11 14.

The woman who was beaten at RÜFÜS DU SOL‘s recent Los Angeles concert is suing for negligence and battery.

Official documents shared with Rolling Stone AU/NZ reveal that the complaint was filed against Rose Bowl Operating Company and suspect Julio Cesar Lopez Zavala, who has since been arrested and charged in the assault, in Los Angeles County Superior Court by victims Shelby Lynn Elston and her fiancé Cain Webb, alleging negligence and battery, among other claims.

Elston and Webb were attending the Australian electronic group’s Rose Bowl concert on August 16th when the attack occurred. Elston was knocked unconscious by Zavala as other crowd members attempted to help her; Webb tried to shield her from taking multiple punches by her attacker. Security, however, never intervened to stop Zavala, and he was able to flee the venue. He was arrested about one week later.

As the lawsuit states, the venue “negligently managed, administered, and provided security services at the Rose Bowl and so negligently treated patrons such that Zavala was permitted to violently assault plaintiffs for several minutes without any security guards intervening to protect plaintiffs from further harm.”

It further alleges that venue staff “failed to have sufficient security in place to ensure the safety of its invitees, including plaintiff, which proximately caused and/or contributed to this horrific attack insofar as security, at no point during the attack, intervened to protect plaintiffs from further harm.”

In addition to the above, Elston and Webb are suing Zavala for battery, noting that as “a direct and proximate result of Zavala’s conduct, plaintiffs suffered physical injuries, conscious mental anguish, past and future pain and suffering, and past and future medical expenses.”

In a statement, the plaintiff’s attorney Andrew Talebi of Los Angeles-based West Coast Trial Lawyers said: “The Rose Bowl should be a place where patrons can come and feel safe enjoying an outing with friends and family, yet the venue failed miserably in its negligence. Ms. Elston and Mr. Webb are now left to deal with mounting medical bills from the physical assault and severe mental trauma. None of this had to happen if the Rose Bowl just did its job and protected patrons.”
Following the August attack, RÜFÜS DU SOL addressed the incident on their social media channels: “Delivering moments to our fans to gather and celebrate safely is what we live for. We have been heart broken to hear of the act of violence that took place during the opening act on Saturday. This type of behaviour is completely unacceptable anywhere, and the fact that this happened at one of our shows was devastating to learn about.”

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