Apparently, the fight between Rapture Electronic Music Festival and Ultra Music Festival Miami is far from over. We learned last week that a judge tossed the original lawsuit filed by Rapture. Just yesterday, Rapture made changes to their original complaint and presented an amended lawsuit. Their new claim details how they believe the City of Miami and Virginia Key Beach Trust violated their rights. More specifically, Rapture claims the city has violated Antitrust laws, as well as Florida’s Deceptive and Unfair Trade Practices Act. In addition, they also declare that the “application for its [Rapture] festival was ignored, skipped, and otherwise disregarded.”
Today, we have learned that the initial federal court date for the suit will take place on March 22. This court date is only one week prior to the start of both festivals – both of which are occurring at the exact same venue. As of right now, both festivals are permitted to promote and sell tickets to their respective events.
In a statement released today, Rapture lawyer Paul. K Silverberg said:
“THIS IS DEFINITELY THE FIGHT OF THE GROWING FESTIVAL VERSUS THE MACHINE AND THOSE ONLY CARING ABOUT MONEY… WE ASK YOU TO STAND BY US AND TAKE ON ALL THOSE THAT OPPOSE YOUR RIGHT TO CHOOSE AND HAVE OPTIONS IN MUSIC, ENVIRONMENT, AND OVERALL ATMOSPHERE. A LOSS FOR RAPTURE IS JUST ANOTHER STEP TOWARDS ‘THEM’ LIMITING YOUR CHOICES AND YOUR EXPERIENCES.”
At this time, it is unclear whether Rapture Electronic Festival will choose to relocate, should the lawsuit not end up in its favor. Ultra has not yet released a comment about the new lawsuit or official court date.
Stay tuned for updates as we continue to follow this developing story.
H/T: Miami New Times