Taylor Swift Eras Tour ticket lawsuit against Ticketmaster and Live Nation partially dismissed
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Live Nation lawsuit overview:
- Who: A California federal judge dismissed several claims from a lawsuit filed against Live Nation Entertainment Inc. and Ticketmaster LLC by plaintiff Julie Barfuss and hundreds of other Taylor Swift fans.
- Why: The judge found the plaintiffs failed to plausibly allege their negligence and fraud-based claims.
- Where: The lawsuit is pending in California federal court.
A California federal judge has dismissed several causes of action from a lawsuit filed against Live Nation Entertainment Inc. and its subsidiary Ticketmaster LLC over the sale of Taylor Swift Eras Tour tickets.
U.S. District Judge George H. Wu granted in part Live Nation and Ticketmaster’s motion to dismiss, finding the plaintiffs failed to plausibly allege their claims for negligence, fraud and negligent misrepresentation. Those three claims were dismissed without leave to amend.
The judge also ruled that the plaintiffs’ breach of contract claim survives in limited form, allowing them one final opportunity to amend and requiring them to identify the specific contract terms allegedly breached.
Wu declined to dismiss the plaintiffs’ antitrust and unfair competition claims, including claims under the Sherman Act, California’s Cartwright Act and California’s Unfair Competition Law. Those claims, which form the backbone of the lawsuit, will proceed.
The litigation was originally filed in 2022 in Los Angeles Superior Court before being removed to federal court. The complaint now names 364 plaintiffs.
The fans allege that Live Nation and Ticketmaster engaged in anticompetitive conduct, including forcing consumers to purchase and resell tickets through Ticketmaster’s platforms, resulting in inflated prices and the ticketing “disaster” surrounding the Eras Tour presale.
Negligence and fraud claims dismissed; antitrust allegations remain
Wu concluded the plaintiffs did not overcome California’s economic loss rule, which bars tort claims arising from contractual relationships unless a special duty is plausibly alleged. The plaintiffs failed to demonstrate such a relationship existed between them and Live Nation or Ticketmaster.
The court also determined the plaintiffs did not sufficiently allege that Live Nation or Ticketmaster made promises with no intent to perform or that they had no reasonable grounds to believe their statements were true when made — deficiencies that doomed the fraud and negligent misrepresentation claims.
The judge further noted that even after multiple amendments, the plaintiffs had not identified the specific misrepresentations or the required “who, what, when, where and how” details to support their fraud theories.
Meanwhile, Judge Wu denied the motion to dismiss the plaintiffs’ antitrust-related causes of action, allowing them to pursue allegations that Live Nation and Ticketmaster maintain and abuse monopoly power in the live entertainment market.
The plaintiffs contend this conduct forced fans to pay above-competitive prices and reduced their ability to purchase tickets on fair terms.
What do you think of the judge’s decision to narrow the claims against Live Nation and Ticketmaster? Let us know in the comments.
The plaintiffs are represented by John M. Genga of Genga & Associates P.C. and Jennifer A. Kinder of Kinder Law PLLC.
The lawsuit is Barfuss, et al. v. Live Nation Entertainment Inc., et al., Case No. 2:23-cv-01114, in the U.S. District Court for the Central District of California.
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