Top Class Actions’s website and social media posts use affiliate links. If you make a purchase using such links, we may receive a commission, but it will not result in any additional charges to you. Please review our Affiliate Link Disclosure for more information.
An Illinois customer is suing Ticketmaster and its parent company Live Nation for fraud because they are claiming events are “postponed indefinitely” rather than canceled due to COVID-19, thus blocking ticket refunds.
In the Live Nation class action lawsuit, lead plaintiff John Tezak claims he paid $300 for two tickets to see Blake Shelton perform March 17 in Rosemont, Illinois.
That concert did not occur because large gatherings had been banned by that time, but tickets have not been refunded because Live Nation has not officially canceled it.
An untold number of other customers are in the same boat.
If you were charged for an event that was canceled or changed because of the coronavirus, click here to participate in an investigation.
“Live Nation continues to hold thousands of events … in purgatory, so that it can retain the proceeds of the ticket sales by not acknowledging that there is little to no likelihood that the events can be rescheduled,” the Live Nation class action lawsuit maintains.
“While everyday people were forced to make difficult decisions and thrust into a state of constant worry about their health, their loved ones, and their ability to pay the bills, Defendants took to a policy of hoarding money they had collected for events that they knew could not occur,” states the Live Nation class action lawsuit.
Live Nation claims to be the world’s largest live entertainment company. Its marketing materials tout 98 million ticket sales to more than 40,000 events in 2019, according to the Live Nation class action lawsuit.
Besides producing events, Live Nation owns or holds significant interest in 273 entertainment venues and manages many of the entertainers whose shows it produces.
The filing also notes that the company has a large amount of debt and lease obligations, which limits its ability to respond to a crisis such as this one.
“Defendants have quietly sought to force their buyers to endure the financial losses that Defendants created for themselves in the entirely foreseeable scenario that world occurrences would cause the simultaneous cancellation of numerous public events,” the Live Nation class action lawsuit alleges.
The Live Nation class action lawsuit claims the defendant should have had plans in place to allow full refunds in case of such disruptions, per its own policy, which states in part: “If an event is canceled, and you purchased your ticket through [Ticketmaster], we will automatically issue you a refund to the credit card, debit card, gift card or the method of payment used to make your purchase.”
According to the Live Nation class action lawsuit, on April 13 the company posted a “clarification” to that policy: Refunds for events that were postponed or rescheduled would be made at the event promoter’s discretion.
“Of course, the absurdity of this position is that Live Nation is the event promoter for an enormous percentage of Ticketmaster’s events, and Live Nation had indefinitely ‘postponed’ hundreds or thousands of events that plainly could not occur any time in the foreseeable future.”
Large gatherings may remain taboo for many months to come, as experts have indicated it’s unlikely a COVID-19 vaccine will become available before fall 2021.
“At some point, it is no longer unreasonable to call an event postponed,” argues the Live Nation class action lawsuit. “If it occurs later than the next occurrence of that event would have, it is clearly a different event.”
The defendants recently announced that refunds had been authorized for only 5,000 of the 55,000 events it had scheduled between March 1 and Dec. 31, reports the Live Nation class action lawsuit.
“Live Nation’s plan is obviously suspect given that it allows the company to retain all funds associated with ‘postponed’ events until a triggering event of its own choosing takes place. The policy is even more problematic given the near-certainty that large scale events will not be permitted to occur in 2020.”
He is seeking damages and restitution for breach of contract, conversion, negligent misrepresentation, unjust enrichment, and violations of Illinois’ Consumer Fraud Act and Ticket Sale and Resale Act.
The plaintiff also is asking the court to direct Live Nation and Ticketmaster to “cease retaining funds for any canceled and/or constructively canceled event” and to “cease listing events as postponed when they know that that they cannot reasonably be rescheduled.”
A similar class action is under way in a California district court.
Tezak is represented by Nicholas A. Coulson and Steven D. Liddle of Liddle & Dubin PC.
The Live Nation Class Action Lawsuit is John Tezak v. Live Nation, et al., Case No. 1:20-cv-02482, in the U.S. District Court for the Northern District of Illinois.
Join a Free Coronavirus Failure to Refund Class Action Lawsuit Investigation
If you are still being charged for a flight, event or service even though it was canceled due to the 2019 Novel Coronavirus public health emergency, you may be entitled to compensation.
ATTORNEY ADVERTISING
Top Class Actions is a Proud Member of the American Bar Association
LEGAL INFORMATION IS NOT LEGAL ADVICE
Top Class Actions Legal Statement
©2008 – 2024 Top Class Actions® LLC
Various Trademarks held by their respective owners
This website is not intended for viewing or usage by European Union citizens.
Honda, Hyundai, Kia, Subaru vehicle data collection class action lawsuit investigation
May 17, 2024 | Legal News
2 thoughts onLive Nation Class Action Says Tactic Cancels Out Coronavirus Refunds
I was finally given refunds for 2 music events that were recently switched from postponed. This should have been refunded immediately.
In addition, one event has been rescheduled for August but the choice is to attend or resell the ticket. No choice to refund.
Add me please