Three years ago, Paul van Dyk fell off the stage at a music festival in the Netherlands.
The horrific fall, which nearly killed the German DJ, left him with a severe brain injury and damage to his spine.
Paul van Dyk – real name Matthias Paul – pinned the blame solely on Alda Events, organizers of A State of Trance music festival.
Taking them to court in September 2018, a courtroom awarded Paul $12,588,643.45 in damages, including medical bills and past and future lost profits. Earlier this year, a judge ruled Alda didn’t design the stage “safe to stand on.” The company also hadn’t warned the German DJ against standing on that portion of the stage.
Breaking down the ruling, Paul was awarded $2 million for future medical expenses, $1.2 million for lost profits between 2016 and 2017, and $2.5 million for losses in the next 10 years. The judge also awarded the German DJ with $5.5 million for “other damages.”
Now, Alda has returned to the courtroom, seeking to overturn the ruling.
The real price of a near-fatal fall.
Filed at the U.S. District Court for the Central District of California on Monday, ALDA claims Paul van Dyk never signed an underlying contract to perform at the 2016 music festival.
The company argued Paul didn’t have a legal standing to participate in arbitration. He also can’t enforce the award.
Organizers wrote,
“The fact that petitioner Paul is a non-signatory and a non-party means that the arbitration agreement doesn’t extend to him, and no agreement to arbitrate exists between him and Alda.”
In fact, adds the company, Paul van Dyk never showed the courtroom the arbitration agreement – which included negligence claims.
In short, Alda argues it doesn’t have to pay the $12.6 million. Paul doesn’t have the legal right to receive it.
You can view the complete opposition filing below.
Featured image by Jorge Mejía peralta (CC by 2.0).