Arts & Culture Production Company Drops Suit Against Ye Over 2022 Coachella Cancellation
May 25, 2023
City News Service
A lawsuit has been dropped against rapper Ye and his three companies that alleged $7.1 million was owed to a production firm that worked on his behalf on various projects, including his Coachella appearances scheduled in 2022 that the singer formerly known as Kanye West later canceled.
Attorneys for the plaintiff, Phantom Labs Inc., filed court papers on Monday, May 22, with Los Angeles Superior Court Judge Christopher Lui asking that the case be dismissed “with prejudice,'' meaning it cannot be refiled. The court papers do not state if a settlement was reached or if Phantom Labs is not pursuing the case for other reasons, but the judge in March ordered the parties, who agreed to participate in mediation, to complete that effort by April 2024.
Phantom Labs brought the case last July 14 against Ye and the firms Very Good Touring Inc., Yeezy Apparel LLC and Yeezy LLC. Phantom alleges that it performed its obligations to Ye but was not paid as required under the parties' contract.
According to the suit, just weeks after promising to make Phantom whole from the reported $9 million payment the rapper was to receive for his Coachella appearance, Ye without warning decided not to appear at the concert, allegedly reneging on promises to pay Phantom's multimillion-dollar balance and leaving the plaintiff with an additional $1.1 million in Coachella-related cancellation fees and other expenses.
Ye was expected to headline the closing night of each weekend on April 17 and April 24, 2022. Phantom also worked on Ye and Drake's “Free Larry Hoover'' concert at the Los Angeles Memorial Coliseum, according to the suit.