© skynesher | Getty Images/iStockphoto
The class-action antitrust lawsuit on Ticketmaster and Live Nation continues to pick up steam as 10 more US states join in. The US Department of Justice filed a civil lawsuit in May, claiming the live entertainment conglomerate had participated in illegal monopolization practices across the live event industry.
Attorneys-general from Indiana, Iowa, Kansas, Louisiana, Mississippi, Nebraska, New Mexico, South Dakota, Utah, and Vermont join the legal action. The move will strengthen the Department of Justice’s claims that Ticketmaster abuses its dominant market position. Until now, only 30 states and districts had been supporting the case, so this is a major expansion of the number of plaintiffs against the companies.
Along with the ever-length list of plaintiff supporters, DOJ put forth a new complaint that added some new details regarding the alleged anticompetitive behavior that sprawled across the different Live Nation-Ticketmaster operations.
Yet, the corporations have continued fighting the charges in public relations messages. On its website, Live Nation has maintained a response to the key assertions in the lawsuit as it fights back against the monopolization accusations. Now, with 40 government representatives joining the fray, Ticketmaster and Live Nation will face an even more formidable legal battle against them over their business practices in the live entertainment sector.
