In May, I wrote that I filed suit against Insomniac, the subsidiary of Live Nation that puts on Electric Daisy Carnival (EDC), a 3-day music festival in Nevada that is the largest in the country. The basis of the suit is that Insomniac prohibits all over-the-counter medicines from entering its festival, then sells the same medicines inside the festival at an inflated price, and additionally requires anyone bringing in prescription medications to show their prescription during a “consult” with a “safety officer” who has no medical qualifications nor any legal obligation to keep your info private. All in the name of the “war on drugs,” of course.

Insomniac’s attorney, Greg Hurley of Sheppard Mullin, started off our lovely relationship with an unexpected 8:30 AM phone call yelling about how law students don’t know what they’re talking about and shouldn’t file lawsuits. (Thanks for the tip, Greg!) The tone of our relationship has continued to this day, with the Sheppard Mullin team refusing to participate in the case like good-faith officers of the court until motions for sanctions or other court intervention is threatened, and even just this month told me I’d be sanctioned for my frivolous lawsuit if I refuse to dismiss it. (Good luck with that!)

Greg’s hot-headed temper notwithstanding, the interesting part of the legal side of the case is that Insomniac has doubled down, arguing to the court in a motion for summary judgment that what it’s doing is perfectly acceptable, and that if I don’t publicly disclose what my medical conditions are that require medicine (as they have, thus far, refused to agree to any confidentiality), or testify that I’ve never taken an illegal drug in my lifetime, I must just be a drug dealer:

In responses to Defendants’ discovery, Plaintiff has refused to disclose a medical condition impacted by these 2016 policies. Moreover, as Plaintiff has

refused to disclose whether or not Plaintiff uses, or intends to use, illegal drugs, it is reasonable to assume that this is merely an attempt to have a federal court strike a reasonable safety policy designed to protect against deaths from illegal drugs. It is hard to envision a clearer abuse of the ADA statute and the jurisdiction of this Court.

It is simply astounding that after filing suit over them treating those with medicine like drug dealers at the gates of EDC, their attorneys now give me the same treatment at the courthouse. The Americans with Disabilities Act was designed to protect those with disabilities against being denied full access to public accommodations to whatever extent is reasonably possible. Confiscating or harassing people over their medication at the festival gate is exactly the kind of thing the ADA prohibits.

I fully expect their motion to be denied.

Corbett v. Insomniac – Motion for Summary Judgment (.pdf)

Corbett v. Insomniac – Motion for Summary Judgment Opposition (.pdf)