OTTAWA — Coinciding with the 2013 edition of the Ottawa Bluesfest in early July, Cheap Trick’s management filed suit against the festival organizers to recoup $1 million in gear damage and other costs related to the collapse of the festival’s stage structure in 2011.
The structure, still clad with wind-walls, was blown away from the audience, backward atop tour trucks, injuring three; band members and others narrowly avoided serious injury when the trucks prevented heavy structural elements from falling further.
Charging the organizers with inadequate weather monitoring and structural safety checks, Cheap Trick is seeking $400,000 in gear damage and $600,000 for other costs. Sandy Sanderson, the band’s truck driver, suffered the most serious injuries and filed a separate suit against the festival for negligence.
Along with the festival organizers, others named in the lawsuit include Groupe Berger/Mega Stage, staging technician David Lussier and Project X Productions, according to reports.
