Kaskade wants Las Vegas’ Palms Resort Casino to pay up.
In a breach of contract suit filed Dec. 4 in U.S. District Court in Nevada, the globally-renowned DJ (aka Ryan Raddon) and Big City Dynasty accuse F.P. Holdings, a limited partnership connected to Palm's parent company Red Rocks Resorts Inc., of failing to pay out the remainder of his contract after closing down its KAOS nightclub last month. He had been scheduled to perform at the venue through the end of 2020.
“It is almost hard to imagine a more straightforward breach of contract claim than this one,” wrote attorney Alex Fugazzi with firm Snell and Wilmer LLP in the opening of the the civil complaint. It goes on to note that FP’s contractual obligations to pay Raddon for the remainder of his performances are “clear and unambiguous.”
The contract, which was signed in January 2018 by Big City and FP, provided that Raddon perform a total of 30 shows at the Palms in 2019 and an additional 30 in 2020. A 31st show for 2019 was negotiated later.
The complaint states that Raddon performed all of his scheduled performances during the first nine months of 2019 and received full payment for them. But in August, FP canceled all three of Raddon’s performances in October 2019, claiming KAOS would be undergoing renovations.
FP ultimately paid Raddon for the October performances, after which he suggested several alternative dates. Not only did FP not respond to those suggestions, the suit alleges, but since announcing KAOS' "indefinite" closure it has failed to pay him for the remainder of his performances, including a total of seven in 2019 (including shows scheduled for Nov. 8, 16 and 23) and another 30 in 2020. The complaint notes that FP's failure to provide a “suitable” alternative venue to host the remaining shows means the company now owes him full payment for the remainder of his contract (the actual amount of which has been redacted in the version of the suit obtained by Billboard).
Raddon gave written notice to FP that it had breached their agreement in a letter dated Nov. 13, though the complaint alleges the company has not yet acknowledged the notice or taken steps to rectify it. Raddon effectively terminated the agreement on Dec. 3, which he claims he is entitled to do under terms that allow the non-breaching party to immediately terminate the agreement if a "substantial breach of material conditions" is not rectified within five business days of receiving written notification of the breach, or before the next performance.
The plaintiffs are asking for compensatory damages for the remaining performances plus pre- and post-judgment interest, along with attorneys' fees and other costs and expenses incurred in the suit.
A representative for FP Holdings owner Red Rock Resorts has not yet responded to Billboard's request for comment.
This is the second lawsuit brought against a Palms-affiliated company in as many months. A day after KAOS' closure was announced, a class-action suit was filed by cocktail waitress Alyssa Faulstick against Palms owners Station Casinos and Red Rock Resorts, alleging the club failed to give she and other KAOS staff members at least 60 days’ notice of their termination, which is a violation of federal labor law.
Kaskade isn't the only DJ affected by the closure. In September, both Marshmello and Skrillex abruptly ended their KAOS residencies. The former had signed a reported $60 million, two-year contract with the club back in March.
The Palms has also seen several top executives depart over the last few months. These include vp and GM Jon Gray; vp creative strategy Ronn Nicolli; senior vp nightlife, daylife and events Ryan Craig; executive vp nightlife Alex Cordova; and co-managing directors of social experience Cy and Jesse Waits.
KAOS opened for business in April as part of a $690 million Palms redevelopment project. In a statement announcing the club's closing, Michael Britt, senior vp government relations and corporate communications for Red Rock Resorts Inc., released a statement noting that the "entertainment and fixed cost structure associated with Kaos" had proven to be a challenge for the hotel-casino.
