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The companies are hoping to head off a lawsuit
in Los Angeles, California, federal court accusing them of
violating antitrust and consumer protection laws.
Demand from fans, scalpers and bots for Swift's first tour in
five years caused the Ticketmaster site to crash last fall, and
raised new scrutiny from U.S. lawmakers and others about what
critics say is a lack of competition in the ticketing market.
The December lawsuit alleged the 2010 merger of Live Nation and
Ticketmaster eliminated market competition and let the companies
charge higher prices for Swift tickets than they otherwise
could.
Companies generally favor arbitration over court litigation to
try to quickly resolve matters and limit potential damages.
Antitrust cases in U.S. court expose a company to the
possibility of trebled damages.
In its Friday court filing, Beverly Hills-based Live Nation said
the ticket purchaser who filed the case "repeatedly agreed" to
arbitrate any claims arising from her use of Ticketmaster's
online systems.
Live Nation has successfully argued in other cases that users of
its online ticketing platforms agreed to arbitrate disputes. The
company pointed the Los Angeles court to a 9th U.S. Circuit
Court of Appeals ruling this month that upheld arbitration in an
antitrust suit against the ticket company.
Attorneys for Live Nation called the 9th Circuit decision on
Feb. 13 "binding authority" that "can and should end" the Los
Angeles court's inquiry.
Lawyers for the plaintiff and Live Nation did not immediately
respond to requests for comment on Monday.
The case is Sterioff v. Live Nation Entertainment Inc and
Ticketmaster LLC, U.S. District Court, Central District of
California, No. 2:22-cv-09230-GW-GJS.
For plaintiff: Lisa Omoto of Faruqi & Faruqi; and Bonner Walsh
of Walsh LLC
For defendant: Timothy O'Mara of Latham & Watkins
Read more:
Live Nation hires ex-Latham antitrust chief Dan Wall
Taylor Swift concert fiasco leads to U.S. Senate grilling for
Ticketmaster
Taylor Swift fan sues Ticketmaster over botched ticket sales
(Reporting by Mike Scarcella)
(Photo: Singer Taylor Swift arrives to speak at
the Toronto International Film Festival (TIFF) in Toronto,
Ontario, Canada September 9, 2022. REUTERS/Mark Blinch)
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