Live Nation pricing class action to proceed along with justice department case

A consumer lawsuit accusing Live Nation and subsidiary Ticketmaster of charging artificially high ticket prices will proceed at the same time as a parallel antitrust case filed by the U.S. government and 39 states, a federal judge has ruled.

U.S. District Judge George Wu in Los Angeles on Monday rejected, a request from Live Nation to pause the proposed class action amid the government’s lawsuit, which seeks to break up the two companies.

The consumers’ lawsuit, a proposed nationwide class action seeking monetary damages, was filed in January 2022. The government case was lodged in federal court in Manhattan in May.

Live Nation said allowing the two lawsuits to move ahead at the same time risked wasting resources and could lead to potentially conflicting rulings.

Live Nation and attorneys for the consumers did not immediately respond to requests for comment.

Live Nation has denied any wrongdoing in the cases.

Both cases claim Live Nation limits competition for live event ticketing through exclusive deal arrangements and other barriers. The consumer case was brought on behalf of a potential class of millions of original ticket purchasers and resale ticket purchasers.

The consumers had accused Live Nation of delaying the case for years, as the company tried to force the claims to be heard in a private arbitration and not in court.

A U.S. appeals court in October refused to order the claims into arbitration, which would have halted the litigation in court.

Wu on Monday rejected Live Nation’s argument that the government case, which is set for a trial in 2026, was significantly more advanced than the consumer lawsuit.

“The only reason why this case has not progressed further is because defendants sought to enforce extremely unconscionable arbitration terms,” Wu wrote in an order last week.

The case is Skot Heckman et al v. Live Nation et al, 9th U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals, No. 23-55770.

For plaintiffs: Warren Postman and Albert Pak of Keller Postman; and Kevin Teruya and Adam Wolfson of Quinn Emanuel Urquhart & Sullivan

For defendants: Roman Martinez and Tim O’Mara of Latham & Watkins
Reuters