Another absurd lawsuit

[Steve]

Woman out $500; sues TicketMaster for $14 million (http://www.cnn.com/2004/LAW/10/06/ticketmaster.lawsuit.ap/index.html)

She needs to be slapped. Frequently. For the rest of her life.

[jimeez]

Hey, yeah....that reminds me. Back in '89....or '90 I think it was. I was not at all pleased with Jerry Garcia's performance at Buckeye Lake during the summer tour. Think I'll get me a lawsuit goin' of my own. Get me some of that estate!

[Suchaknight]

Well, it's nice to see TicketMaster get slapped for something. They are a ripoff. Hmm, I wonder if I could get a settlement from them for a Madonna concert; I'm sure she was lip-synching. It just ain't right. :nut:

[IamZed]

Those Buckeye Lake shows kicked ass! The vending on the other hand sucked. That super veggie burrito is still with me a decade later. I think I’ll sue for that.
In her case I think it will be tough to convince a jury that having a bad time at a Michael Jackson show is a hardship, and not the norm.

[Suchaknight]

Those Buckeye Lake shows kicked ass! The vending on the other hand sucked. That super veggie burrito is still with me a decade later.
I had one of those burritos too, and when the band went into one of their long rifts I fell asleep and missed the rest of the show. Wonder if I can find something there to sue for? :rolleyes:

[Violet1966]

I think the amount is rediculous, but I think they're trying to teach ticket master a lesson. How else to make an impact and get your point accross then hitting them in the pocket?? Selling seats where you can't see a thing and it's legit...it deceptive business practices.

[ShinyTop]

I also agree the suit has merit. The amount is ludicrous and I hope she gets her money back and lawyer fees and enough punitive damages to keep Ticketmaster from being so off hand again.

[Coriolis]

I had one of those burritos too, and when the band went into one of their long rifts I fell asleep and missed the rest of the show. Wonder if I can find something there to sue for? :rolleyes:
You didn't hear the announcement?

<i>"Dont't eat the brown burittos!"</i>

:cool:

[Fiona]

The suit has merit, IMO. 3 years later and 14 million? Ridiculous!! ...give her the price of tickets, transportation, sitters, etc. and maybe a couple thousand pain and suffering for missing such a BIG THING... but 14 million? yeeps! :rolleyes:

[Misu]

Woman out $500; sues TicketMaster for $14 million (http://www.cnn.com/2004/LAW/10/06/ticketmaster.lawsuit.ap/index.html)

She needs to be slapped. Frequently. For the rest of her life.

First off, it's a class action lawsuit. Which means the 7840 people who purchased tickets at 100 bucks a pop are being represented.

Now, I've been to a high-profile concert, and 100 bucks is what you would pay ticketmaster for a seat in the nosebleed section. A decent seat is upwards of $300 a pop. And one upfront is around $500 a pop. We're talking Superbowl prices for these tickets. I am assuming that for an MJ concert with Spears and Minelli, the tickets would be a LOT more expensive.

So let's assume the average cost of tickets was $300 a ticket. That multiplied by 7840 concert attendees represented in the lawsuit equals $2,352,000 (and I think I'm actually low-balling the average price). Then you have to figure in some money for the lawyers, and some more for the fact that this was a once-in-a-lifetime event that they will never be able to attend, ever again, especially since MJ might be going to jail and Ray Charles died. 14million in a class-action lawsuit for a concert of that caliber - that's not really a whole lot. Plus, that amount isn't going to get paid out - aren't initial figures always inflated because the settlement is a percentage of that? That gives them some room to "haggle" it down.

Ticketmaster and concert promoters are like the RIAA in that they charge these insane prices for entertainment, which people are willing to hand over IF their expectations are met. For 100 bucks a ticket, you expect to at least be able to see the screens, not sit behind a wall. And when she contacted Ticketmaster (and this is according to the article - I'd be interested in reading the actual response), they basically said "tough luck".

Anyway, I don't think this is a silly lawsuit. When you pay 100 bucks per ticket, you should be seated in an area where you can see the danged concert.

[Copzilla]

Gotta hand it to you, Misu, that was a well presented argument!

Fact is that after everything is hashed out, lawyer fees and expenses, each person would get $1000. Since it's likely to be settled out of court for half the amount of $14 mil, I'd guess each person would get $500.

Doesn't sound quite so unreasonable, since they did waste a day of their lives and the aggravation of having to file a complaint, then be party to the suit.

[FrankF]

Woman out $500; sues TicketMaster for $14 million (http://www.cnn.com/2004/LAW/10/06/ticketmaster.lawsuit.ap/index.html)

She needs to be slapped. Frequently. For the rest of her life.

She needs to get over it. Anyone who would pay $500 to see a concert by a surgically disfigured child molestor deserves crappy seats.

[Fiona]

First off, it's a class action lawsuit. Which means the 7840 people who purchased tickets at 100 bucks a pop are being represented. d'oh! :blush: ... well in that case...

[Steve]

...after...lawyer fees and expenses, each person would get $1000. Since it's likely to be settled out of court for half the amount of $14 mil, I'd guess each person would get $500.Ding Ding Ding! We have a winner!

If the woman had sued on her own behalf that would be one thing. But no, some bottom feeder has to help her along to the tune of $14 mil.

Oh, and Misu, next time you feel like grousing about rising concert ticket prices.....you can thank this woman, her lawyer, and others like them. ;)

[Misu]

For the record, I was not complaining about rising concert ticket prices. When I came upon this thread, the title led me to believe that this single woman, who paid 600 bucks for her tickets, was suing Ticketmaster for 14million, which if that had really been the case, would have been a retarded lawsuit. However, the the suit is actually a class-action lawsuit, approved by a judge, against Ticketmaster and Madison Square Garden for basically ripping off concert goers. Showing seats that are behind walls and obstructing the view for the event one is attending as available seating, and then selling those seats for 100 bucks a pop, is ripping people off. I'm sorry if some people don't see it as being ripped off, but a judge thought the case had enough merit to approve it.

Also, I think when you read the following paragraph from the the first article, you realize that the people who had the unfortunate luck of purchasing tickets in the affected section really were ripped off:

The judge allowed the case to go forward on complaints that included deceptive business practices and breach of contract. He noted that a Garden executive conceded employees were aware of the obstructions days before the concert.

Ticket prices for concerts don't rise because of lawsuits. They rise because rental costs for venues increase, and venues are run by city officials. And Lord knows why they increase the price of venue rentas.

Also, prices are determined by who you're going to see - if you're gonna go see someone like Toby Keith, it's understandable that average prices for tickets would be around 50 bucks (http://www.ticketmaster.com/event/1B003927E6F3863B?brand=&artistid=762365&majorcatid=10001&minorcatid=2) , and as great as Toby is, he's never going to ever be able to draw a crowd like, say, Madonna, who's average ticket prices are higher - this cnn article (http://money.cnn.com/2004/06/25/news/newsmakers/summer_concerts/) states that the average cost for a Madonna concert ticket is 175 bucks. She could be playing in the same venue as Toby Keith played at just a month before, but her ticket is way more expensive.

Here's the perfect example: Madison Square Garden is being used as the venue for Beastie Boys and Usher.

Beastie Boys = avg price of about $45 (http://www.ticketmaster.com/event/1D003914A5637B9E?brand=&artistid=702455&majorcatid=10001&minorcatid=3)
Usher = avg price of $80 (http://www.ticketmaster.com/event/1D0039027F652A6D?brand=&artistid=766722&majorcatid=10001&minorcatid=202)

Don't make me cite you to death ! ;)