Editor’s note: The above video is from previous reporting.
ATLANTA, Georgia (Atlanta News First) – A wheelchair user from Florida has filed a lawsuit against rapper and entrepreneur Rick Ross, claiming he waited for hours outside the star’s car and bike show because no accessible transportation was available.
The lawsuit was filed in Broward County, Florida – where the plaintiff lives and where Rick Ross Car Show, Inc. is registered – and accuses Ross of several offenses, including breach of contract, negligence and violation of the Americans with Disabilities Act. It calls for a jury trial.
PREVIOUS COVERAGE: Rick Ross and police address traffic problems ahead of annual car show at rapper’s mansion
The third annual event took place on June 1 and invited the public to Ross’ Fayette County mansion, nicknamed “The Promise Land.” Tickets ranged from hundreds to thousands of dollars, and the show offered access to specialty and vintage cars and motorcycles from across the country, as well as performances by rappers like Bun B and Boosie.
But plaintiff Darris Straughter said he saw none of it.
“Rick Ross marketed his car show as a dream visit to his estate, ‘The Promise Land.’ In reality, it was a land of broken promises and nightmarish exclusion for plaintiff Darris Straughter,” the lawsuit states. “It is remarkable that this statement even needs to be typed: People with disabilities are entitled to reasonable accommodations in public spaces in the United States.”
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Straughter, who is paralyzed from the waist down after being shot multiple times at a red light in 2018, said he saved money throughout the year for tickets, transportation and lodging, and even sold his car when his savings ran out, according to the lawsuit.
When he attended the event in 2023, Straughter was given a golf cart to get to the event for free. This year, organizers promised him in writing a wheelchair-accessible shuttle — but when Straughter arrived, none of the shuttles could take him, he said. He sat in the sun for hours before returning to his hotel, “humiliated and dejected,” the lawsuit says.
Straughter also claims that the organizers have not yet provided any refunds.
This is not the first lawsuit filed against the massive car show. In 2023, Fayette County residents filed a petition to prevent the county from granting Ross an event permit, complaining about traffic and noise. However, a judge ruled against the lawsuit and gave Ross permission to go ahead.
In 2024, Ross said he worked with local law enforcement to ensure locals could pass police and roadblocks.
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