​​StubHub Dodges Class Action Lawsuit Demanding Refunds Over Vouchers

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StubHub’s parent company, Viagogo Entertainment, has avoided a class action lawsuit that accused the company of unfairly offering customers who had purchased tickets to cancelled or delayed events vouchers rather than refunds.

U.S. District Judge James S. Moody Jr. tossed the StubHub lawsuit in a Florida federal court, saying that lead Plaintiff Lauren Shiflett’s claims posed “glaring” issues related to damages and liability, Law360 reports.

During the height of the pandemic when most events were cancelled across the country, Viagogo Entertainment started to offer StubHub ticket holders of cancelled events a voucher worth 125 percent of their original ticket price. Initially, it sent ticket holders an email offering the voucher immediately or a cash refund several months later, and according to the company, 30 to 40 percent of people chose to receive the voucher.

However, Shiflett said that the vouchers didn’t cut it, as the company had previously guaranteed full refunds.

Viagogo argued that some customers would prefer to receive the voucher, given it was worth more than their original ticket, and Moody Jr. sided with the company in his ruling saying that Shiflett did not represent all Viagogo customers in the estimated 50,208 transactions at issue.

“For example, if a buyer prefers a voucher to a refund, how could she have been deceived … and how would that amount to any breach of contract or unjust enrichment?” he wrote.

“The court agrees with the defendant that all of these uncertainties render the proposed classes unmanageable.”

Moody also said that other issues existed in Shiflett’s StubHub lawsuit claim, including that ticket holders for postponed events would have to return the passes or otherwise prove to Viagogo that they had not been transferred, Law360 reports.

“Plaintiff’s definition also requires an assessment of whether someone in any class ‘affirmatively indicated’ her preference to receive a voucher without explaining what it means to express such an affirmation,” the judge noted.

“The survey email informed buyers that they did not need to take any action if they preferred a voucher.”

What do you think about ticket holders being offered vouchers worth 125 percent of their ticket’s value rather than a refund? Let us know in the comments section!

Shiflett is represented by Gary F. Lynch, Jamisen A. Etzel and Nicholas A. Colella of Carlson Lynch LLP; and Scott Adam Edelsberg of Edelsberg Law.

Viagogo is represented by Emily Y. Rottmann and Frank Talbott V of McGuireWoods LLP.

The StubHub Ticket Voucher Class Action Lawsuit is Shiflett v. Viagogo Entertainment Inc., Case No. 8:20-cv-01880, in the U.S. District Court for the Middle District of Florida.

Read About More Class Action Lawsuits & Class Action Settlements:

• Viagogo Fights to Stop Refund Refusal Class Action Lawsuit Gaining Nationwide Status
• StubHub Wants MLB Refund Class Action Lawsuit Arbitrated
• StubHub Class Action Alleges Unlawful COVID-19 Refund Policy
• StubHub Reaches $1.3M Settlement Over Misleading Ticket Pricing in Canada