The start of the first civil trial stemming from the 2021 Astroworld festival, at which 10 people were killed in a crowd surge, has been delayed.

Jury selection had been set to begin next Tuesday in the wrongful-death lawsuit filed the family of Madison Dubiski, a 23-year-old Houston resident who was killed during the crowd crush at the Nov. 5, 2021, concert by rap superstar Travis Scott.

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But Apple Inc., one of the more than 20 defendants going to trial next week, filed an appeal this week, automatically delaying the start of jury selection.

“Unless I hear differently, the trial is stayed,” state District Judge Kristen Hawkins said during a court hearing Thursday.

Apple, which livestreamed Scott’s concert, is appealing a ruling by Hawkins that denied the company’s motion to be dismissed from the case. Apple has argued that under Texas law, it can appeal Hawkins’ ruling because its defense claims are being made in part as a member of the electronic media.

Apple is arguing that in livestreaming Scott’s concert, it was acting as a member of the electronic media and its actions merit free speech protection.

“It remains our position that our conduct is protected by the First Amendment,” Kent Rutter, one of Apple’s attorneys, told Hawkins during a court hearing Thursday.

Just before the hearing ended, Hawkins said she had been notified that the appeals court earlier Thursday had denied a request by the lawyers for Dubiski’s family to lift the stay.

Jason Itkin, one of the attorneys for Dubiski’s family, said he planned to appeal that denial, likely up to the Texas Supreme Court.

Lawyers for Dubiski’s family have alleged that her death was caused by negligent planning and a lack of concern over capacity at the event. Her lawyers allege that how Apple placed its cameras around the concert site affected the placement of barriers and reduced available crowd space by the main stage.

Rutter argued that it was broadcasting an event “with significant public interest” and that by doing so, it was acting as a member of the media and gathering news.

Itkin said Apple has described itself in business records as a company that makes smartphones and computers but doesn’t mention news or news reporting. He added that the company’s Apple News app is a subscription service that aggregates the stories of other news organizations.

“This is not a free speech case. They know that,” Itkin said.

During the hearing, Hawkins appeared skeptical about Apple’s claims about being a member of the electronic media, asking Rutter that if a livestream were set up in a zoo to watch animals, would that be news.

“Yes, it would be,” Rutter said.

Over 4,000 plaintiffs filed hundreds of lawsuits following the concert. Dubiski’s case had been chosen by attorneys in the litigation to be the first to go to trial. More than 20 defendants, including Scott, Apple and Live Nation, the festival’s promoter, had been set to go on trial Tuesday.

Following a police investigation, a grand jury last year declined to indict Scott, along with five others connected to the festival.

Cinco de Mayo will be celebrated in the United States this year with a Mexican beer – for the first time – atop the leaderboard of American favorites.

Modelo Especial, brewed in Mexico since 1925, surpassed Bud Light last year to become the top-selling beer in the U.S. 

It was a transformational moment in an industry long dominated by local and domestic beer brands.

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“It’s shocking,” Benj Steinman, editor of Beer Marketer’s Insights, told Fox News Digital. “It was really a dramatic shift that happened last year.”

Bud Light’s marketing debacle connected to transgender influencer Dylan Mulvaney caused the brand to implode.

The resulting national boycott and big-business catastrophe was reported first by FOX Business in April 2023. 

But, Steinman noted, it “only accelerated a trend that was already underway and just took off and went into orbit in 2023.”

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“We’ve planned on becoming the No. 1 beer in America over the next couple of years; it just happened quicker than we anticipated,” Jim Sabia of Constellation Brands, which sells Modelo and other Mexican beers in the United States, said in a 2023 media interview. 

Beer industry insider Bump Williams, of Bump Williams Consulting in Connecticut, cited a long list of savvy business and marketing moves that lifted Mexican beer from a newcomer in the U.S. in the 1980s to a dominant force today. 

Kenny Chesney performs live at Kenny Chesney’s Flora-Bama-Jama, a free beachplay for 40,000 on the Florida/Alabama line, behind the historic Flora-Bama on Aug. 16, 2014, in Orange Beach, Alabama.   (Rick Diamond/Getty Images for Kenny Chesney)

Topping the list?

“Brilliant and memorable marketing and advertising that addressed the core consumer with an iconic and consistent message,” said Williams. 

The breezy beach vibe, and the clever idea that Mexican beers were served with lime — among many other factors — tapped into beer’s most basic appeal: It represents good times and good vibes.

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The Mexican beer groove even helped launch a subculture of country music. 

Performers such as Kenny Chesney and the Zac Brown Band have cranked out hit after hit romanticizing palm trees and breezy beach views with cold beer with lime. 

Modelo Especial became the No. 1 beer in the United States, among all domestic or import brands, in 2023.  (Gabby Jones/Bloomberg via Getty Images)

Here are the five most popular Mexican beers in the United States today.

1. Modelo Especial

“A model of what good beer should be,” raves BeerAdvocate.com. “This rich, full-flavored Pilsner-style lager delivers a crisp, refreshing taste.”

2. Corona Extra

“Astoundingly popular because of its approachable and crisp flavor profile,” Jonah Flicker wrote in 2022 for Liquor.com. 

3. Pacifico

“The smoothest, crispest, best tasting Mex lager on the market hands down,” claims a brew enthusiast on Reddit/beer. 

4. Dos Equis Lager

“A liquid embodiment of living life to the fullest,” Untapped.com enthused, calling it “a lager that drinks like a pilsner.”

Corona Extra, which arrived in the United States from Mexico in 1981, popularized the idea of drinking Mexican beer with lime.  (Illustration by Scott Olson/Getty Images)

5. Corona Familiar

“I was very impressed!” a Reddit/beer reviewer exclaimed, adding that “it tastes like a light Vienna lager … while having a higher ABV (alcohol by volume) than Corona Extra.”

Modelo Especiai and Dos Equis rank No. 1 and No 5, respectively, among all domestic or imported beer brands in the United States. 

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