Almost four years have passed since Fyre Festival made history as the biggest festival disaster in recent memory. A class action lawsuit against organizer Billy McFarland has now reached a $2 million settlement, requiring that he pay 277 ticket holders $7,226 apiece.
The parties involved reached the agreement on Tuesday in a U.S. Bankruptcy Court in New York’s Southern District. The New York Times reports that final approval of the exact amount is pending a May 13th hearing. Attorneys Ben Meiselas and Mark Geragos of Geragos & Geragos first filed the lawsuit days after the festival in early May 2017.
Expectation vs. Reality
Fyre Festival had been marketed as a luxury boutique gathering on a tropical island with tickets ranging from $1,000-12,000. Attendees arrived at the Bahamian island of Great Exuma on April 27th, 2017 to garbage-strewn grounds and limited shelter; the meals provided to them were also a far cry from the culinary delights promised in promotions. McFarlane and company postponed – and ultimately canceled – the event later that same day.
July 2017 saw McFarland arrested on charges of wire fraud for falsifying documents when courting investors. He is currently serving a six-year sentence after pleading guilty to the charges in 2018. He and rapper Ja Rule, a co-organizer of the gathering and partner of Fyre Media, have faced 12 separate lawsuits amid the aftermath of the the Fyre Festival flop.
“Billy went to jail, ticket holders can get some money back, and some very entertaining documentaries were made,” Meiselas said in an email to the Times. “Now that’s justice.”
