Shutterstock
SXSW is facing a lawsuit after being forced to cancel its 2020 festival due to the coronavirus pandemic earlier this year. SXSW is reportedly refusing to issue refunds and are now being sued by ticket-holders Maria Bromley and Kleber Pauta, according to Billboard.com.
“SXSW, like many small businesses across the country, is in a dire financial situation requiring that we rely on our contracts, which have a clearly stated no refunds policy,” a spokesperson for SXSW told Billboard. “Though we wish we were able to do more, we are doing our best to reconcile the situation and offered a deferral package option to purchasers of 2020 registrations.”
The festival is being sued for breach of contract and unjust enrichment.
“SXSW has, in effect, shifted the burden of the COVID-19 pandemic onto festivalgoers … individuals who in these desperate times may sorely need the money they paid to SXSW for a festival that never occurred,” the lawsuit read.
SXSW is one of the many festivals and events that was forced to cancel its 2020 plans due to the outbreak of COVID-19.
https://www.instagram.com/p/B9aLZpynlux/?utm_source=ig_embed
The coronavirus mainly comes from animals and a majority of those who were infected early either worked at or frequently visited the Huanan seafood wholesale market in Wuhan, according to The Guardian. The virus is similar to Severe acute respiratory syndrome (Sars) and Middle Eastern respiratory syndrome (Mers).
The Wuhan coronavirus is transmitted from person to person through “droplet transmission.” That means an infected person can pass the virus by sneezing or coughing on another person as well as by direct contact.
While a majority of the cases have been detected in the United States and China — with more than 56,000 deaths in the United States — it has now reached many countries around the world. It has also been confirmed in Italy, Australia, Canada, France, Germany, and many other eastern countries.
