The Fourth Circuit on Friday seemed poised to unravel a federal court’s injunction allowing two NASCAR teams, including one co-owned by NBA legend Michael Jordan, to continue racing as chartered teams while they pursue...more
Recently, the Ninth Circuit Court of Appeals affirmed a district court’s decision finding a delegation clause in an arbitration agreement to be both procedurally and substantively unconscionable and, moreover, that...more
In the long-awaited newest chapter of case law discussing the validity and enforceability of arbitration clauses and class action waivers, the Ninth Circuit on October 28, 2024, dealt a setback, though not a fatal blow, to...more
In Heckman v. Live Nation Entertainment, Inc., a panel of the Ninth Circuit affirmed a lower court decision refusing to enforce the Ticketmaster arbitration provision in a purported consumer antitrust class action brought...more
Ohio Attorney General Dave Yost’s office asked a federal judge on Thursday to intervene in a lawsuit filed by the Cleveland Browns to test the “Modell Law,” a state law designed to stop teams from leaving cities that...more
On October 28, 2024, the Ninth Circuit affirmed the district court’s ruling in Heckman v. Live Nation, finding Live Nation’s Ticketmaster arbitration agreement unconscionable and therefore unenforceable based on their terms...more
We previously wrote about a California federal district court decision in Heckman v. Live Nation Entertainment that denied Ticketmaster’s motion to compel arbitration of Sherman Act antitrust claims based in large part on the...more
Illinois Attorney General Kwame Raoul announced that Illinois has joined an $82.5 million proposed antitrust settlement with Varsity Brands (Varsity). As a result, Illinois consumers who paid to participate in Varsity Brands’...more
Under Armour on Friday said it has agreed to pay $434 million to settle a 2017 class action lawsuit accusing the sports apparel maker of defrauding shareholders about its revenue growth in order to meet Wall Street forecasts....more
A Los Angeles jury has found following a monthlong trial that StubHub owes more than $16 million for breaching its contract with Spotlight Ticket Management, which does business as TicketManager, and interfering in the...more
For more than a decade, companies have benefited immensely from the United States Supreme Court decision of AT&T Mobility LLC v. Concepcion, 563 U.S. 333 (2011), which upheld a company’s right to compel consumers into...more
Beginning in late 2023, plaintiffs have filed dozens of putative class action lawsuits against companies that sell tickets to entertainment venues and events in New York. These suits arise from allegations that companies are...more
In New York, there has been an uptick in class action lawsuits seeking to contest “hidden” ticket fees following online purchases. The New York Arts & Cultural Affairs Law was amended in August 2022, which has prompted dozens...more
One day, Name, Image and Likeness may pivot away from collectives and pivot toward university-based funding. At least one prominent athletic department is preparing for the possibility....more
In recent months, various groups—including the Federal Trade Commission (FTC) and other high-level government regulators—have raised questions about the appropriateness of “add on” charges paid by consumers who are buying...more
In Oberstein v. Live Nation Ent. Inc. No. 21-56200 (9th Cir. Feb. 13, 2023), the Ninth Circuit addressed the question of whether the arbitration and class action waiver clauses on Ticketmaster’s and Live Nation’s websites...more
A magistrate judge of the United States District Court for the Western District of Texas has issued a report and recommendation to the District Court concluding that the contract exclusion in a directors and officers...more
A federal district court in Florida denied a plaintiff’s motion for class certification in a putative class action asserting claims on behalf of ticket purchasers against Viagogo, a secondary ticket marketplace platform, for...more
In a series of orders issued earlier this month, Judge Dale S. Fischer of the Central District of California dealt two strikes to putative class claims against ticket merchants Ticketmaster/LiveNation and StubHub that seek...more
COVID-19 has changed the daily lives for all Americans, and this includes a spring with no baseball. Fans across the nation had tickets in hand for the 15 games set for Opening Day on March 26, 2020. However, on March 12,...more
With all sports and live entertainment “postponed” or canceled since Rudy Gobert’s March 13th trip to that Oklahoma City hospital, and every concert and festival suffering the same fate by government order, refunds have...more
The COVID-19 pandemic has altered the landscape for private and public businesses in almost every industry, impacting day-to-day operations as well as longstanding obligations to businesses and consumers alike. Just over a...more
A proposed class action filed in federal court in California on April 20 demands refunds for all fans who purchased tickets to Major League Baseball (MLB) games that have been postponed indefinitely due to the coronavirus...more
I. Education - Rosenkrantz v. Arizona Board of Regents (D. Ariz. Mar. 27, 2020) – putative class action alleging the board failed to offer refunds for a portion of its room and board fees or other on-campus services after...more
In 2015, world-renowned boxers Manny Pacquiao and Floyd Mayweather, Jr. faced off in what was promoted as the “Fight of the Century.” After twelve largely uneventful rounds, the fighters and fans walked away without much...more