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Here’s why Live Nation is facing another refund lawsuit

Live Nation now has another lawsuit on its hands, in addition to a recent litigation regarding Rage Against The Machine tickets. Now, the company, as well as Ticketmaster, StubHub and every team in Major League Baseball are being sued over ticket refunds. 

The lawsuit has two plaintiffs. One is a New York Mets season ticket-holder. The other is a woman who bought six tickets to a game set to occur in May. 

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Previously, Live Nation-owned Ticketmaster outlined their refund policy stating that refunds were only available for canceled shows, not postponed ones.

According to Billboard, Ticketmaster is easing their restrictions on refunds similarly to AEG‘s plan.

Ticketmaster will reportedly be offering a limited 30-day window to receive a refund. Similarly, the refund will only be available once the show is rescheduled.

Ticketmaster will be emailing customers when (and if) their shows are rescheduled and allegedly present three options. 

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The first is the cash refund request. The second is to receive a 150% credit for the value of the tickets. The third is to donate their ticket to charity. The technical fourth option is to hang on to the ticket which will still be valid for the new date. 

“For canceled shows, refunds will be automatically processed within 30 days, unless fans voluntarily opt into other programs,” a statement reads. “Live Nation venues will offer fans an option to receive a 150% credit for the value of their tickets to be used for a future Live Nation show. Fans will also be able to donate the proceeds of their refund to a charity to give concert tickets to health care workers, with Live Nation matching ticket donations.”

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The complaint alleges, like we’ve seen before, that the refund policies of the companies are unjust. Baseball has no set date to return, and it’s a criminal act to not allow refunds for events that are indefinitely postponed.

But, Live Nation, Ticketmaster and StubHub aren’t the only ones to blame. The complaint also targets each MLB team, as well as the league as a whole.

“While many businesses across this country have acted lawfully and ethically by providing consumers with refunds for events that will never occur during this pandemic, sometimes at the risk of bankruptcy, it remains notable that America’s pastime — baseball — is refusing to do right by its fans,” attorney David Azar writes in the complaint. 

“As stadiums remain empty for the foreseeable future, baseball fans are stuck with expensive and unusable tickets for unplayable games in the midst of this economic crisis. Under the pretext of ‘postponing’ games, at the directive of MLB, Teams and Ticket Merchants are refusing to issue refunds for games which are not going to be played as scheduled — if ever; and, should any games be played this year, it is almost certain that they will be played without spectators.” 

The current lawsuit is separated into two classes. One is for those who bought tickets directly from the teams. The other is for those who bought them through second-party sellers such as StubHub and Ticketmaster. 

Their claims include civil conspiracy, unfair competition and unjust enrichment and they want full restitution. They are also seeking an injunction that would force the defendants to no longer prevent refunds. 

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The MLB, like the NBA and the NHL has suspended their upcoming season with no announced plans for a return. 

Live Nation and the MLB have not commented on the situation and StubHub has told The Hollywood Reporter that they do not comment on pending litigation. 

The full complaint can be read here

Do you expect Live Nation and others to have more lawsuits filed against them in the coming months? Tell us your thoughts in the comments below.

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