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Law360 (April 15, 2020, 6:39 PM EDT) -- A Washington federal judge shot down a Seattle-based music festival production company's request to pause a case accusing it of misusing a partner company's $2 million advance payment, pointing to technological workarounds for obstacles created by the COVID-19 pandemic.
U.S. District Judge Robert S. Lasnik said he is "keenly aware of the unprecedented challenges posed by the current public health crisis," but he didn't agree that it should halt the case.
"Technological advances now facilitate remote legal work, including allowing for face-to-face interviews with clients and experts," the judge said. "The parties are instructed to continue litigating this matter to the extent safely possible, in accordance with the general orders of this district."
The Western District of Washington — which covers Seattle and Tacoma, two of the earliest epicenters of the COVID-19 outbreak in the U.S. — halted in-person proceedings indefinitely starting in early March and has shifted to fully remote work.
Concert promoter Chad Anderson and his company Conscious Entertainment Group LLC, which does business as USC Events, had asked Judge Lasnik on March 20 to pause the case brought by USC's business partner Insomniac Holdings LLC.
Insomniac sued in January, claiming Anderson and USC had mishandled a $2 million advance payment that Insomniac made to Conscious in connection with the annual Paradiso music festival, which the two companies jointly produced.
Insomniac said Anderson and USC were supposed to use the money to pay for festival-related expenses for the 2019 show, but they didn't, leaving Insomniac holding the bag. The Southern California-based company also said USC refused to provide required accounting information.
In an answer to the suit filed on March 27, Anderson and USC lodged counterclaims against Insomniac, saying it ginned up the purported contract breaches.
"Insomniac realized the event was highly profitable, and created delays and excuses to terminate its agreement with USC so it would no longer have to share profits 50/50 with USC," the Seattle-based company said.
Insomniac is seeking a court declaration nixing the agreement regarding the Paradiso music festival and preventing USC from having anything to do with this year's event. The company is also seeking unspecified damages as well as attorney fees and costs.
Anderson and USC want a declaration upholding the agreement and awarding unspecified damages and costs and fees.
Neither side responded on Wednesday to requests for comment.
Insomniac is represented by Jaime Drozd Allen and Jennifer K. Chung of Davis Wright Tremaine LLP.
Conscious is represented by Alex Thomason of Valor Law Group.
The case is Insomniac Holdings LLC v. Conscious Entertainment Group LLC et al, case number 2:20-cv-00137, in the U.S. District Court for the Western District of Washington.
--Additional reporting by Daniel Siegal. Editing by Adam LoBelia.
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