Live Nation $5 Billion Class Action Lawsuit

Live Nation and Ticketmaster have been hit with a $5 billion class-action lawsuit following a Justice Department lawsuit seeking to break up both companies.

In the first lawsuit against Live Nation and Ticketmaster since the U.S. Department of Justice filed a lawsuit last week to split up the two companies, a class action lawsuit was filed against the conglomerate in federal court in Manhattan on Thursday. The case seeks $5 billion in damages for millions of ticket buyers.

Both the class action lawsuit and the Department of Justice’s motion accuse Live Nation of monopolizing the live events industry by driving out competitors and threatening venues that partner with Ticketmaster competitors. The class action lawsuit could be the first of many against Live Nation and Ticketmaster that will follow the government’s lawsuit against the companies.

On Friday, the case was assigned to U.S. District Judge Arun Subramanian, appointed to the court by President Biden last year after representing plaintiffs in antitrust lawsuits at the law firm Susman Godfrey. The plaintiffs in the class action are represented by attorneys from Israel David and Robbins Geller Rudman & Dowd.

While the DOJ’s new case against Live Nation is not entirely different from the 2010 case involving the company’s merger with Ticketmaster, the DOJ emphasizes that the previous case involved a different antitrust law — Live Nation has since exhibited “more expansive forms of anticompetitive conduct “

Live Nation called the government’s lawsuit “baseless,” saying the live events market is “more competitive than ever.” Lawyers not involved in the case but who have reviewed the government records said Live Nation could partially base its defense on the fact that the Justice Department agreed to the company’s takeover of Ticketmaster in the first place.

However, since government approval of the merger required the companies to follow a pre-agreed set of guidelines, Live Nation’s failure to do so appears to be a valid basis for legal action. That said, antitrust lawyers such as Eric Enson of Crowell & Moring, who is not involved in the lawsuit, said the government’s case raises “questions of law and fact as to whether severance is a legally permissible remedy.”

Legal representation for the class action plaintiffs did not immediately respond to media requests for comment.