Ticketmaster Is Forcing Users Into Shady Arbitration Courts
Live entertainment giant Ticketmaster recently inserted language into its user agreements that steers customer lawsuits into a corporate-friendly private justice system, just months after a federal judge ruled its use of such processes was illegal.
A federal court decision last fall found that Ticketmaster’s arbitration clause in its user policies was unenforceable, in part because consumers could not voluntarily accept the terms of the agreement. (David L. Ryan / the Boston Globe via Getty Images)
Ticketmaster, the ticketing company accused of illegally monopolizing the live entertainment industry, recently inserted language into its user agreements that steers customer lawsuits into a corporate-friendly private justice system, just months after a federal judge ruled the corporation’s use of such arbitration processes violated federal law.
Owned by the parent company Live Nation Entertainment, Ticketmaster quietly announced the new agreement in an innocuous email sent last month titled “We’re updating our terms and policies,” which included a new binding arbitration clause and class action waiver buried in the fine print. Experts told the Lever that the new terms of use appear to be stretching the limits of an October 2024 Ninth Circuit Court of Appeals ruling that struck down the company’s prior arbitration clause as unenforceable in a class action antitrust lawsuit.
“They are certainly treading very close to the line beyond which they’d be in violation of the law,” said Lee Hepner, legal counsel at the American Economic Liberties Project.
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