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OFF BEAT: Daddy Yankee concert promoter says canceled shows made him sick

Posted On: Nov. 23, 2011 12:00 AM CST

A concert promoter says reggaeton rapper Daddy Yankee caused him more harm than just lost revenues when he canceled an Argentinean tour at the last minute. Much more.

The concert promoter, Diego Hernán de Iraola, president of Five For Entertainment S.A. in Buenos Aires, Argentina, filed a lawsuit against Ramón Luis Ayala Rodriguez, whose stage name is Daddy Yankee, for expenses and injuries suffered as a result of breach of contract, according to court documents filed in a federal court in Florida.

According to the suit, Mr. De Iraola paid Daddy Yankee $820,000 for a six-show tour in Argentina, beginning in November 2010. Promotion of the shows became so popular that an agreement to add four more concerts to the tour was reached for an additional $480,000, to which Mr. De Iraola would pay upon Daddy Yankee's arrival in Argentina, according to the suit.

After unmet demands that Mr. De Iraola pay the entire sum to the artist in advance, Daddy Yankee canceled the entire tour two days prior to the first scheduled concert appearance, according to court documents.

In the suit, Mr. De Iraola claims the cancellation caused reputational damage to his business and suffered severe emotional distress.

Mr. Iraola “began to suffer from high blood pressure due to stress, which caused him to experience nosebleeds, bleeding in his eyes and numbness in his limbs” and “became increasingly depressed and suffered from extreme insomnia,” according to court documents.

In the suit, Mr. De Iraola seeks compensatory and punitive damages.