Fan Sues Rod Stewart for Soccer Ball Smash
Rod Stewart is known for kicking soccer balls into the audience during his concerts, and now a fan says one smashed him in the face and broke his nose at Caesar’s Palace.
Mostafa Kashe claims Stewart “intentionally kicked multiple soccer balls” into the audience with “sufficient force so as to potentially injure patrons” at his Oct. 7, 2012 concert.
Kashe says he was “unexpectedly hit in the face by a soccer ball kicked from the stage” by Stewart, which fractured his nasal cavity and caused other injuries requiring medical and cosmetic attention.
Kashe sued Stewart and Caesar’s Palace on Monday in Clark County Court, along with concert promoter AEG Live. He accuses them of negligence and failure to warn.
“Stewart has significant experience in the sport of soccer and experience in kicking soccer balls, having previously tried out for a professional soccer team in the UK and regularly playing in amateur soccer leagues since his youth,” the complaint states.
“Stewart either knew or should have known that his actions could cause injury to unsuspecting patrons of his concerts.”
Kashe says he had to cut short his family vacation in Las Vegas and continues to suffer from mental and physical pain and “cosmetic damages” that might be permanent.
He claims Caesar’s Palace officials and AEG Live knew or “should have been aware of Stewart kicking soccer balls without warning into the crowd as part of his show.”
Kashe seeks special, general and compensatory damages exceeding $10,000, lost wages, attorney’s fees and other relief. He is represented by Larry J. Weinsteen.
Stewart, 69, gained fame as the singer for the Jeff Beck Group and The Faces during the late 1960s and early 1970s. His solo career began to flourish with the release of “Every Picture Tells a Story” in 1971, which became the top-selling LP in the United States, and he has remained an internationally renowned singer and entertainer.
Source: Entertainment Law Digest
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