Victims of Chaotic Crowd Stampede at Dallas Cheer Competition File Lawsuit

Business Wire

2 days ago

DALLAS--(BUSINESS WIRE)--Lawyers representing hundreds of people who were injured during a chaotic crowd stampede at a March cheerleading competition in Dallas have sued the organizer, Varsity Spirit, and facility management saying they failed to provide proper security at the event.
In their court filing, the attorneys say those failures led to parents and children being trampled and suffering broken bones, concussions, brain bleeds, and other physical injuries when participants and attendees went running from the Kay Bailey Hutchison Convention Center, following reports of gunshots being fired. Many others, including children, continue to suffer from the emotional trauma they endured.
'This wasn't a little something. This was mass chaos,' said Ashlea Schwarz of Paul LLP in Kansas City, Mo., who represents the victims. 'You had parents separated from their kids for hours. You had a facility that had no plan for reunification in place. People had no idea where they would go to find their children.'
Video of attorney Ashlea Schwarz and victim Rachel Meyer
'It was pure chaos,' said Rachel Meyer of St. Louis, who attended the event along with her 9-year-old daughter. 'Nobody knew what was happening. Everybody was screaming, looking every way. There were people pushing other people. And the pure panic in everybody's voices – that's something I'll never forget.'
Records show there were approximately 25,000 participants – most under the age of 18 – who attended the 2025 National Cheerleaders Association All-Star National Championship event, from Feb. 28 to March 2. An estimated 38,000 spectators attended.
Police and event officials have said the crowd crush was ignited by the sound of metal poles crashing to the concrete floor of the convention center following a fight between two parents.
'It really doesn't matter what started the panic,' said Charla Aldous of Dallas-based Aldous Law. 'What matters is the chaos and crowd crush happened because Varsity and the convention center were not prepared. And that resulted in the injuries these people suffered.'
The lawsuit details injuries suffered by attendees from Kansas, Missouri, New Jersey, North Dakota, Ohio, Texas, and Virginia. They include a woman knocked unconscious during the stampede who suffered a series of brain bleeds; a mother who was slammed face-first into the concrete and was so severely hurt that her young daughter thought her mom had been fatally shot; and an event participant suffering from a concussion who sheltered alone under tractor-trailers outside the convention center.
Varsity Brands is the parent company of Varsity Spirit, and is headquartered in Farmers Branch, Texas.
The lawsuit is Albold, et al. v. Varsity Spirit LLC et al., No. CC-25-04400-C in Dallas County Court at Law No. 3.
About Paul LLP
Paul LLP is a Kansas City, Missouri-based trial firm focused on complex commercial and consumer litigation involving the prosecution of class and mass actions, frequently leading multi-faceted, nationwide teams of co-counsel in complex litigation. Learn more about the firm at https://paulllp.com/.
About Aldous Law
Aldous Law specializes in high-stakes personal injury litigation, including wrongful death, trucking collisions, medical malpractice, products liability and sexual assault cases. Learn more about the Dallas-based firm at https://www.aldouslaw.com/.