Compelling new details have emerged regarding the wrongful death lawsuit filed by Lil Peep’s mother against First Access Entertainment (FAE), who she says provided the drugs that ultimately led to Peep’s overdose death in 2017.
As reported by Pitchfork, Peep’s mother Liza Womack filed an expansive 372-page docket of evidence on January 28 prior to a scheduled hearing on FAE’s motion for summary judgment on Thursday (February 10). The evidence included text messages Womack viewed as “inculpatory” involving Peep’s former tour manager Belinda Mercer and FAE– texts the latter two parties tried to have sealed last October.
“The vigor with which FAE and Mercer fought to shield this information from the public record speaks volumes as to the inculpatory nature of these text messages,” Paul Matiasic, an attorney for Womack, told Pitchfork.
Mercer and FAE sought to seal the text messages by arguing the info included was “self-incriminating.” A lawyer for Womack rebuked this claim by arguing the documents aided in demonstrating the full scope of how “the drug-infected mismanagement” ultimately “led to [Peep’s] death.”
“What these documents mostly contain are exchanges that reveal FAE tour management as dangerous, discordant, inept, and engaged in conduct that contributed to [Peep]’s death,” Womack’s lawyers told the outlet.
A judge last month rejected Mercer’s plea and determined the texts didn’t meet the qualifications for sealing. As a result, a few of the texts were released to the public, giving broader insight to Womack’s 2019 lawsuit. FAE’s lawyers have regularly argued Peep’s contract prohibited legal action against them in regards to negligence. It was revealed the suit also additionally named FAE CEO Sarah Stennett and Peep’s former manager Bryant “Chase” Ortega.