Los Angeles

LA Jury Awards Woman $3.8M In Stage-Diving Suit Against Skrillex

November 21, 2018 / 1:07 PM PST / KCAL News

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LOS ANGELES (CBSLA) - A jury has awarded a woman $3.8 million in her lawsuit against DJ Skrillex -- in which she alleges she was hurt and days later suffered a stroke -- after the musician leaped on top of her from a downtown Los Angeles stage during a performance in 2012.

The Los Angeles County Superior Court panel deliberated for about two days before finding in favor of 31-year-old Jennifer Fraissl on Tuesday.

FILE -- Special guest record producer Skrillex performs onstage with DJ Snails during day 2 of the 2016 Coachella Valley Music & Arts Festival Weekend 1 at the Empire Polo Club on April 16, 2016 in Indio, California. (Photo by Michael Tullberg/Getty Images for Coachella)

The jury awarded a total of $4.5 million, but $675,000 was deducted from that amount because Fraissl's negligence was apportioned at 15 percent. Skrillex and his company, Lost Boys Touring Inc., will have to collectively pay $3.4 million of the verdict, while the remainder, about $450,000, was assessed against Belasco Entertainment Theater Inc.

The 30-year-old Skrillex, a DJ and record producer whose real name is Sonny John Moore, issued a statement Wednesday regarding the verdict.

"There is nothing more important to me than my fans and their safety at my shows," he wrote. "I want them to have fun and enjoy the music. While I'm disappointed by the jury's decision, I'm glad this process is over. I look forward to getting back to work and delivering new music to my fans."

Fraissl, of Morgan Hill in Santa Clara County, says she suffered a stroke 16 days after the Feb. 11, 2012, show at the Belasco Theater. Fraissl filed the lawsuit February 2014. She told the jury that she was standing near the front of the crowd when Skrillex beckoned fans forward, making it hard for her to leave or protect herself. She said Skrillex unexpectedly jumped from his table several feet above the stage and landed on the back of her head.

In their court papers, attorneys for Skrillex and Lost Boys state that Fraissl was aware Skrillex jumped from the stage during a Las Vegas show she attended and that she assumed the risk she could be injured when the DJ did the same thing at the Belasco.