Ticketmaster Lawsuit Explainer: Breaking Down the FTC Case With Veteran Attorney Paul Singer

Few lawyers recognize the intersection of user protection, authorities enforcement and firm accountability arsenic profoundly arsenic Paul Singer, seat of the authorities attorneys wide signifier astatine Kelley Drye & Warren LLP. Based successful Washington, D.C., Singer leads 1 of the country’s astir experienced teams advising companies connected multistate investigations, regulatory compliance and proactive engagement with authorities attorneys wide (AGs). Before joining Kelley Drye, Singer spent 2 decades wrong the Texas Attorney General’s office, wherever helium helped signifier nationalist enforcement strategies connected user protection, information privateness and deceptive commercialized practices.

That includes cases similar the Federal Trade Commission’s lawsuit past month against Ticketmaster and Live Nation. Seven authorities AGs joined the regulator successful a civilian ailment accusing the ticketing elephantine of colluding with summons brokers, hiding jaw-dropping fees and ignoring flagrant regularisation breaking by immoderate of Ticketmaster’s biggest earners. The suit charges they turned a unsighted oculus to broker hijinks, fto fake accounts bypass acquisition limits and profited disconnected inflated resales — each portion advertizing little prices upfront.

While Singer has nary authoritative ties to the case, he’s agreed to interruption down the lawsuit for Billboard and explicate however the Federal Trade Commission (FTC) and authorities AGs are coordinating their efforts against Ticketmaster and Live Nation. He besides details wherefore “junk fees” person go a bipartisan people and what enforcement trends could reshape however ticketing platforms disclose prices and negociate bots successful the years ahead.

You enactment arsenic seat Kelley Drye’s State AG Practice. What does that really entail?

I mostly picture a authorities AG signifier arsenic having 3 components. First, we support businesses nether probe by authorities attorneys wide — chiefly astir user extortion issues. That tin mean helping clients respond to subpoenas, negociate settlements oregon litigate if a lawsuit is filed. Second, we bash compliance counseling. We assistance companies recognize antithetic authorities laws and AG priorities truthful they tin enactment compliant successful however they operate. And third, we assistance clients prosecute proactively with AGs — whether that’s partnering connected argumentation initiatives oregon supporting user extortion programs. So our enactment truly spans some defence and collaboration.

Most authorities AG investigations are civil, right?

That’s right. Some offices bash person transgression authority, including for user protection, but the larger cases — the ones that marque headlines — are civilian successful nature. One constituent of clarification: AGs don’t correspond idiosyncratic citizens. They bring actions successful the nationalist involvement connected behalf of the state. Even if the result benefits consumers, it’s technically the authorities acting to support its residents collectively.

There’s a large FTC lawsuit against Ticketmaster and Live Nation, with respective states joining in. Why are states teaming up with the FTC here?

The FTC routinely partners with authorities AGs, particularly erstwhile states are already progressive successful an contented area. It’s not antithetic to spot associated actions similar this. In cases alleging violations of national instrumentality — similar the BOTS Act, which targets automated ticket-buying bundle — states often indispensable notify the FTC earlier filing. That opens the doorway for the FTC to articulation in. There’s besides a applicable reason: the FTC’s quality to get monetary alleviation has been narrowed by the courts, portion states inactive person that authority. Working unneurotic allows them to excavation resources and prosecute some injunctive and monetary remedies that the FTC couldn’t get connected its own.

If Ticketmaster were to settle, would it person to scope deals with each authorities and the FTC separately?

Each authorities and the FTC are autarkic sovereigns — immoderate 1 of them could technically settee connected its own. But fixed that they filed jointly, immoderate solution is apt to see everyone. It’s the lone mode to afloat adjacent retired a lawsuit of this scale.

You mentioned the BOTS Act. The lawsuit seems to spell beyond literal bots — it’s much astir Ticketmaster’s enforcement of its ain presumption of service.

That’s a just reading. When the BOTS Act passed, automated scripts were the main mode radical were circumventing summons limits. But the manufacture evolved — present determination are networks of radical creating fake accounts oregon coordinating wide purchases manually. The ailment fundamentally argues that Ticketmaster turned a unsighted eye...