NEW YORK (CelebrityAccess) — The Supreme Court of New York handed another setback to Woodstock 50 organizers this week, after denying the festival’s petition to recover a multi-million dollar investment from their former financial backers.
Woodstock organizers took their former partners, Japanese public relations firm Dentsu Aegis Live and their live events subsidiary Amplifi Live, to court in April after Dentsu abruptly backed away from the festival, unilaterally announcing that it had been canceled, and withdrew more than $18.5 million in funding for the festival from a shared account.
While the court ruled that Dentsu could not unilaterally cancel the festival, they left any decision about the investment to arbitration. Woodstock 50 organizers appealed that decision, asking the court to compel the return of the money but the court disagreed.
The appellate court’s panel of four judges denied Woodstock 50’s claim that the money had been illegally taken from the account, writing: “Woodstock 50, LLC’s motion for a preliminary appellate injunction and directing Respondents’ attorneys to release funds previously deposited with them pursuant to an interim order of the court.”
The ruling, which came late Thursday, the court did provide an explanation for the decision but ordered the money, which has been held Dentsu’s attorneys pending the ruling, released to the company.
The decision is another blow to the prospects for Woodstock, which is scheduled to take place on August 16-18th. While festival organizers maintain that the event will take place, it seems like increasingly long odds for the festival, which has yet to secure a venue and has yet to announce a full lineup or an onsale date for tickets.
The ruling was first reported by the Poughkeepsie Journal.
