Received An Interesting "Notice of Proposed Settlement of Class Action" Today

Basic Information

1.             Why did I get this Notice?      After several mediation sessions before impartial mediators, the parties have reached the proposed Settlement for this case, which must be approved by the Court. If you have received this notice by email, it is because Ticketmaster’s records reflect that you are a member of the Class. You may also be a member of the UPS Subclass. The purpose of this notice is to inform you of the terms of the Settlement, the benefits available to you under it, how this lawsuit and the Settlement may affect your legal rights, important upcoming deadlines relating to the Settlement, and the steps you must take if you want to object to or opt out of the Settlement.

2.             What is the name of the case and where is it filed?    The case is Schlesinger, et. al. v. Ticketmaster, Case No. BC304565. It is pending in the Superior Court of the State of California – Los Angeles, Central Civil West Courthouse– Department 310.

3.             What is this case about?     Plaintiffs claim that some of Ticketmaster’s fees are deceptive and misleading. They claim that Ticketmaster’s description of its fees is deceptive and suggests that the fee for UPS delivery of tickets is a pass-through of the amount that UPS charged Ticketmaster for that delivery. Plaintiffs also claim that Ticketmaster's description of its fees caused customers to believe its Order Processing Fee was based on or related to Ticketmaster’s costs in processing orders, but was not based on those costs and was actually a profit generator which Ticketmaster required customers to pay.

4.             What does Ticketmaster say about the case?      Ticketmaster denied all of Plaintiffs’ claims, and has defended this litigation for more than ten years. In addition to denying the merits of Plaintiffs’ claims, Ticketmaster opposed Plaintiffs’ request that the Court certify this case as a class action. If the Settlement is not approved, Ticketmaster will continue to fight the case and the only way that you and the other Class Members will recover anything is if Plaintiffs ultimately win the case at trial or if the parties subsequently reach another settlement that is approved by court.

5.              Why is this case a class action and who is included?      After reviewing extensive evidence and legal arguments, the Court determined that the case should proceed as a class action. Plaintiffs asked the Court to certify the case as a class action. Ticketmaster vigorously opposed the case being certified as a class action. On February 5, 2010, the Court certified the case as a class action only on behalf of California residents who purchased tickets from www.Ticketmaster.com, including a subclass of consumers who also purchased UPS delivery for those tickets. Plaintiffs appealed that decision, to the extent the Court did not include consumers residing outside of California. In September 2010, the Appellate Court ordered that the case be certified as a nationwide class action. The trial court then issued an Order certifying a nationwide class covering purchases made from the Website from October 21, 1999 through May 31, 2010. For purposes of this settlement, Ticketmaster has agreed to expand the Class to include customers who purchased tickets through February 27, 2013. Specifically, the Class includes all consumers who (1) purchased tickets on Ticketmaster’s website from October 21, 1999 through February 27, 2013, (2) paid money to Ticketmaster for an OPF that was not fully refunded, (3) did not and do not opt-out of the Class, and (4) were residents of one of the fifty United States at the time of their purchase, including persons who placed, and then cancelled, a ticket order without obtaining a full refund of the OPF. Certain people are excluded from the Class. They are (a) Ticketmaster, (b) any entities in which Ticketmaster has a controlling interest or which have a controlling interest in Ticketmaster, (c) the officers, directors, employees, affiliates, and attorneys of Ticketmaster, or (d) any employee or officer of the Court or their immediate family members. If you also purchased UPS delivery for your tickets, then you are also a member of the “UPS Subclass.”

Good.  Will I still have to pay Ticketmaster's "convenience fee" to print my own tickets???

Now let's go after airline "baggage fees" and hotel "resort fees", and let's do it before restaurants start charging "silverware usage fees".