Live Nation Entertainment Inc (LYV.N) and Ticketmaster LLC, its subsidiary, have requested a U.S. judge to suspend a proposed consumer class action concerning their sales of Taylor Swift concert tickets. Instead, they compel the claims to be heard privately in arbitration. The companies seek to prevent a lawsuit in Los Angeles, California, federal court, which accuses them of violating antitrust and consumer protection laws. The lawsuit was filed in December and claimed that the 2010 merger of Live Nation and Ticketmaster eradicated market competition and allowed the companies to charge higher prices for Swift tickets than they would have been able to otherwise.
Live Nation and Ticketmaster’s online ticketing system crashed last fall, which could not handle the demand from fans, scalpers, and bots for Swift’s first tour in five years. This led to increased scrutiny from U.S. lawmakers and others who claim a lack of competition in the ticketing market. Antitrust cases in U.S. court could subject companies to trebled damages, so companies typically favor arbitration over court litigation to quickly resolve matters and limit potential damages.
In its filing on Friday, Beverly Hills-based Live Nation claimed that the ticket purchaser who filed the case “repeatedly agreed” to arbitrate any claims arising from her use of Ticketmaster’s online systems. In other cases, Live Nation has successfully argued that users of its online ticketing platforms agreed to arbitrate disputes. This month, the company cited a 9th U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals ruling that upheld arbitration in an antitrust lawsuit against the ticket company. Live Nation’s attorneys referred to the February 13th decision as “binding authority” that “can and should end” the Los Angeles court’s inquiry.
Lawyers for the plaintiff and Live Nation have yet to comment.
The case against Live Nation and Ticketmaster is still ongoing, and it remains to be seen whether the judge will grant their request to halt the lawsuit and compel the claims to be heard privately in arbitration. The outcome of the case could have significant implications for the ticketing industry and consumers who want to purchase tickets to concerts and events at a fair price.
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Live Nation says Taylor Swift fans can’t sue over ticket debacle