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Comic Con in Philadelphia Refund Lawsuit Overview:
- Who: The Great Philadelphia Comic Con! has been sued by the state’s attorney general.
- What: The state claims that the company cancelled a comic con in Philadelphia, repeatedly rescheduling the event, and then cut off communication with ticket buyers without refunding them for tickets or locking in a date for the April 2020 event.
- Where: The lawsuit was lodged in Montgomery County, Pennsylvania.
The Great Philadelphia Comic Con! violated consumer protection laws by repeatedly rescheduling the event and then cutting off communication with ticket buyers without refunding them for tickets or locking in a date for the April 2020 event, a lawsuit filed by the Pennsylvania Attorney General alleges.
The Commonwealth of Pennsylvania, through Attorney General Josh Shapiro, filed the lawsuit against Great Conventions LLC, and its manager Christopher Wertz on October 6, alleging that the company’s unfair methods of competition and deceptive business practices were causing local residents ongoing harm.
“The citizens of the Commonwealth are suffering and will continue to suffer harm unless the acts and practices complained of herein are permanently enjoined,” the claim says.
Comic Con in Philadelphia Rescheduled, Cancelled With No Refunds
The lawsuit stems from the constant rescheduling of The Great Philadelphia Comic Con! at the Greater Philadelphia Expo Center in Oaks, Pennsylvania, which was originally slated for April 3 through the 5, 2020.
The comic con in Philadelphia was marketed as a weekend celebrating “comics and popular culture by providing unique access to talented artists and a family-friendly experience for fans,” filled with celebrities, panels, workshops and contests.
Tickets sold for between $30 and $225.
However, in March the event was postponed due to the pandemic and restrictions on large gatherings. It was rescheduled for September 4-6, with the event’s social media pages saying tickets would still be valid, and for those who couldn’t make it, tickets would be transferred for the 2021 show. Then in July, the organizers rescheduled the 2020 event to April 2021 due to the ongoing pandemic and gathering restrictions.
But by the time March 2021 rolled around, organizers again cancelled the show.
This time, they posted on social media saying the event would not go ahead in April and that they “intended to schedule the show as soon as it is reasonably safe to do so, without continually changing restrictions on size or attendance capacity,” adding “at this time we are not in a position to be able to offer refunds for tickets or tables.”
To date, the organizers have not rescheduled the event or responded to consumers’ questions and requests for refunds.
Shapiro says in the lawsuit that there were no current restrictions that should stop the event taking place, and consumers had now been suffering harm for more than 20 months.
“Despite the defendants’ representations to consumers in March 2021 that they would reschedule the Comic Con event when event capacity restrictions were eased, they have failed to do so at any time in the four months since the restrictions were completely lifted,” Shapiro says.
He is suing for violation of consumer protection law and seeks a declaration, order of enjoinment, restitution, civil penalty, disgorgement, legal fees and costs.
The organizer of a comic con in Boston faced a similar class action lawsuit filed by ticket holders who say the company failed to provide refunds for a cancelled event last year.
Ticket giant Viagogo was also hit with a class action lawsuit in the wake of COVID-19 cancelled events.
Did you buy tickets to the cancelled comic con in Philadelphia? Let us know how you feel about the constant rescheduling in the comments section below!
Attorney General Josh Shapiro and Deputy Attorney General Debra Djupman Warring of the Commonwealth of Pennsylvania Office Attorney General are bringing the lawsuit.
The Cancelled Comic Con in Philadelphia Lawsuit is the Commonwealth of Pennsylvania v. Great Conventions LLC, D/B/A The Great Philadelphia Comic Con!, et al., Case No. 2021-19965-0 in the Court of Common Pleas of Montgomery County, Pennsylvania Civil Action – Equity.
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3 thoughts onComic Con in Philadelphia Cancelled, Failed to Refund Tickets, AG Alleges
I bought a ticket for the full weekend for the April 2020 Philadelphia Comic Con in Oakes PA. I paid $76.69 on Jan 23, 2020 and still have the tickets saved on my computer. So can supply ticket number upon request.
I want in on the class action lawsuit too. .
I bought 3 tickets as well and I also never received a refund!
I bought 3 tickets to the GPCC FOR THE 4/4/2020 Saturday Exhibit totaling 155.97 and like everyone was never refunded or informed of any upcoming shows. Transaction ID # 19203-789353-32546903. I want in on this class action suit if possible. My phone # 717-300-8406