COMMITMENTS AND CONTINGENT LIABILITIES |
9 Months Ended |
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Sep. 30, 2019 | |
| Commitments and Contingencies Disclosure [Abstract] | |
| COMMITMENTS AND CONTINGENT LIABILITIES | COMMITMENTS AND CONTINGENT LIABILITIES Litigation
Consumer Class Actions
The following putative class action lawsuits were filed against Live Nation and/or Ticketmaster in the United States and Canada: Vaccaro v. Ticketmaster LLC (Northern District of Illinois, filed September 2018); Ameri v. Ticketmaster LLC (Northern District of California, filed September 2018); Lee v. Ticketmaster LLC, et al. (Northern District of California, filed September 2018); Thompson-Marcial v. Ticketmaster Canada Holdings ULC (Ontario Superior Court of Justice, filed September 2018); McPhee v. Live Nation Entertainment, Inc., et al. (Superior Court of Quebec, District of Montreal, filed September 2018); Crystal Watch v. Live Nation Entertainment, Inc., et al. (Court of Queen’s Bench for Saskatchewan, by amendments filed September 2018); Gaetano v. Live Nation Entertainment, Inc., et al. (Northern District of New York, filed October 2018); Dickey v. Ticketmaster LLC, et al. (Central District of California, filed October 2018); Gomel v. Live Nation Entertainment, Inc., et al. (Supreme Court of British Columbia, Vancouver Registry, filed October 2018); Smith v. Live Nation Entertainment, Inc., et al. (Ontario Superior Court of Justice, filed October 2018); Messing v. Ticketmaster LLC, et al. (Central District of California, filed November 2018); and Niedbalski v. Ticketmaster LLC, et al. (Central District of California, filed December 2018).
In March 2019, the court granted the defendants’ motion to compel arbitration of the Dickey lawsuit and stayed the matter. The parties reached a settlement in October 2019, and the case will be dismissed with prejudice shortly. In April 2019, the court granted the defendants’ motion to compel arbitration of the Lee lawsuit and dismissed the case. Lee subsequently appealed the District Court’s ruling to the Ninth Circuit. The Gaetano lawsuit was voluntarily dismissed with prejudice by the
plaintiff in April 2019. The Ameri lawsuit was dismissed in May 2019 in light of the parties’ agreement to arbitrate the matter, and the Vaccaro lawsuit was settled and dismissed in June 2019. The Messing and Niedbalski lawsuits are stayed pending the outcome of the appeal in the Lee matter.
The remaining lawsuits make similar factual allegations that Live Nation and/or Ticketmaster LLC engage in conduct that is intended to encourage the resale of tickets on secondary ticket exchanges at elevated prices. Based on these allegations, each plaintiff asserts violations of different state/provincial and federal laws. Each plaintiff also seeks to represent a class of individuals who purchased tickets on a secondary ticket exchange, as defined in each plaintiff’s complaint. The complaints seek a variety of remedies, including unspecified compensatory damages, punitive damages, restitution, injunctive relief and attorneys’ fees and costs. Based on information presently known to management, we do not believe that a loss is probable of occurring at this time, and believe that the potential liability, if any, will not have a material adverse effect on our financial condition, cash flows or results of operations. Further, we do not currently believe that the claims asserted in these lawsuits have merit, and considerable uncertainty exists regarding any monetary damages that will be asserted against us. We intend to vigorously defend these actions.
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