TicketMaster Sues StubHub Over Tickets Dispute

Capt.Flock · Post by **Capt.Flock** » April 25, 2007 8:47 am

TicketMaster Sues StubHub Over Tickets Dispute
ARTICLE DATE: 04.20.07
By Reuters , eWEEK
LOS ANGELES (Reuters) - Ticketmaster is suing eBay Inc. in Los Angeles, accusing the Internet auction company's subsidiary StubHub of fraudulently obtaining premium tickets to sell online.
The lawsuit, filed in the Los Angeles Superior Court on Wednesday, said StubHub induced artists' representatives or promoters to demand tickets from Ticketmaster's venue clients as part of a deal to bring an act or sports team to a location.
In some cases, representatives for the acts had the tickets held back for "fan clubs" but intended to sell them via StubHub, according to documents filed with the lawsuit.
Representatives for eBay could not be reached for comment.
Ticketmaster said StubHub's intermediaries made it clear to the venues that if they refused to provide the tickets, they might not be considered for future events, the lawsuit said.
Ticketmaster's agreements with the venues "generally do not permit its clients to utilize or authorize the use of the services of another ticketing company, such as StubHub," the lawsuit said.
The lawsuit seeks compensation for lost sales, damages and a permanent injunction barring StubHub from selling or reselling or facilitating the sales and resales of tickets from venues or artists exclusively under contract to Ticketmaster.
The amount of damages and losses would be determined at trial, the suit said.
Ticketmaster, a subsidiary of IAC/InteractiveCorp, runs its own ticket auction Web site called Ticketexchange.com. The company has long dominated event ticketing and its surcharges have been the subject of artist and fan protests.
StubHub, an Internet marketplace for buying and selling tickets to entertainment events, has a Partners Program that offers premium tickets to acts with which the company has a promotional partnership.
It is that business that Ticketmaster is mainly targeting in the Los Angeles lawsuit, which centers on StubHub's sales of premium tickets for the current Lynyrd Skynyrd/Hank Williams Jr. "Rowdy Frynds" tour.
Ticketmaster claims in the lawsuit that it has warned StubHub of the alleged wrongdoing several times over the past two years.

chippewa · Post by **chippewa** » April 25, 2007 9:01 am

Without knowing all of the gritty details, anytime TM sues somebody, you can bet I'm on the defendant's side.

StubHub should just label what it's doing as a "convenience", as TM does.

CaptainP · Post by **CaptainP** » April 25, 2007 9:24 am

Hmmm....ticketmaster vs. ticket broker. Who do ya root for?

jackiesic · Post by **jackiesic** » April 25, 2007 9:27 am

CaptainP wrote:Hmmm....ticketmaster vs. ticket broker. Who do ya root for?

neither? both?
sounds like ticketmaster has their panties in a wad.

Y-NO-9-O · Post by **Y-NO-9-O** » April 25, 2007 10:10 am

I would like to hear from that ticket broker who said he didn't have special access to tickets.

RinglingRingling · Post by **RinglingRingling** » April 25, 2007 10:20 am

CaptainP wrote:Hmmm....ticketmaster vs. ticket broker. Who do ya root for?

scoreless tie, with even the attorneys on both sides suffering career-ending injuries...

green1 · Post by **green1** » April 25, 2007 10:34 am

RinglingRingling wrote:scoreless tie, with even the attorneys on both sides suffering career-ending injuries...

I'm pulling for this result. Come on career ending injuries.

Dezdmona · Post by **Dezdmona** » April 25, 2007 10:45 am

Hard to know how to go on this one...just hoping for someone to break TM's monopoly.

BottleofRum · Post by **BottleofRum** » April 25, 2007 11:15 am

Interesting that they say "fraudulently obtaining premium tickets to sell online" .

If StubHub is buying the tickets from people I am not sure where the fraud comes in?

Skibo · Post by **Skibo** » April 25, 2007 11:57 am

I'm no lawyer but it seems that TM should be suing the promotors for breech of contract and seeking restitution there. They are the ones that obtained the tickets fraudently. In addition to this suit, I look forward to the TM vs Comcast suit. In the philly area at least, Comcast has their own ticket distribution service that is cutting TM out of the game.

CaptainP · Post by **CaptainP** » April 25, 2007 11:59 am

BottleofRum wrote:Interesting that they say "fraudulently obtaining premium tickets to sell online" .

If StubHub is buying the tickets from people I am not sure where the fraud comes in?

I guess they aren't doing what they advertise...

BottleofRum · Post by **BottleofRum** » April 25, 2007 2:21 pm

CaptainP wrote:
BottleofRum wrote:Interesting that they say "fraudulently obtaining premium tickets to sell online" .

If StubHub is buying the tickets from people I am not sure where the fraud comes in?
I guess they aren't doing what they advertise...

Then it is not Ticketmaster's right to sue, it would be the state or federal government or an individual to sue for false advertising.

moeron · Post by **moeron** » April 25, 2007 2:27 pm

It should be ticketmaster suing a ticket SCALPER. I think that they are both scum.

msu#1 · Post by **msu#1** » April 25, 2007 4:49 pm

Hopefully a giant space rock lands on both companies.

ragtopW · Post by **ragtopW** » April 25, 2007 5:21 pm

I just learned today that as a Firectv Employee I am entitled
to a Discount from Stubhub...

BottleofRum · Post by **BottleofRum** » April 26, 2007 9:50 am

Article on this from today.

http://www.boston.com/business/articles ... _security/

chippewa · Post by **chippewa** » April 26, 2007 10:39 am

According to the lawsuits, the resellers buy tickets straight from Ticketmaster using sophisticated software that lets them bypass security measures and make rapid-fire purchases using multiple credit cards and e-mail addresses.

So that's how all the tickets disappear in 8 minutes....

What a surprise.