Hundreds of fans of Taylor Swift, Beyoncé and other musicians have filed a lawsuit against Ticketmaster and its parent company Live Nation for allegedly price gouging.
Fans allege that both companies have colluded with entertainment venues to raise ticket prices, marking the latest complaint against Ticketmaster following a federal antitrust lawsuit filed earlier this year.
The Kinder Law law firm filed a lawsuit Friday in California Superior Court in Los Angeles County accusing Ticketmaster and Live Nation of breach of contract, fraud, negligence, negligent misrepresentation and antitrust violations.
The complaint, which represents 365 fans of Swift, Beyoncé, The Cure and others, expands on a previous case filed by the firm in December 2022, alleging that Ticketmaster and Live Nation have engaged in a “pattern of racketeering activity.” while violating the Racketeer Influenced and Corrupt Organizations Act (RICO).
Read: Live Nation asks the US to dismiss part of the antitrust lawsuit against Ticketmaster
Live Nation and Ticketmaster “exploit” a relationship with Live Nation-owned stadiums to “achieve their business purpose,” which requires fans to use Ticketmaster exclusively for tickets “at prices that exceed what a competitive market would dictate,” the lawsuit alleges. complaint.
Neither Ticketmaster nor Live Nation immediately responded to a request for comment from Forbes.
Kinder Law has requested a jury trial, although it is not immediately clear if its claims will go to court.
The law firm has sought unspecified damages (suggesting that each fan suffered a loss of “thousands of dollars”), in addition to other punitive damages that would be determined at trial.
Ticketmaster and Live Nation have become the focus of litigation in recent years, including the Kinder Law lawsuit in 2022.
That complaint is similar to the most recent one and accuses both companies of various charges and antitrust violations after Swift’s Eras tour, during which millions of fans were unable to purchase tickets, the firm alleges.
Read: US prosecutors ask for triple compensation from Live Nation for Ticketmaster’s monopolistic practices
In 2022, Ticketmaster canceled general sales of the tour after its website crashed during pre-sales, and Live Nation president Joe Berchtold claims the issue was caused by resellers amid a “cyberattack.”
The Justice Department and 29 attorneys general sued Live Nation and Ticketmaster in May, accusing the companies of having a monopoly that caused fans to pay more in ticket fees.
Live Nation criticized the Justice Department’s lawsuit, saying it is “absurd” to claim that any of the companies had a monopoly.
That lawsuit is ongoing and demands that Ticketmaster and Live Nation, which merged in 2010, split up.
This article was originally published on Forbes US
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