buying a movie ticket !! ~ lawsuit in USA

16 vayathinile,  Aadu puli aattam,  Aatttukara Alamelu, Agraharathil kazhuthai, Annan oru kovil, Avargal,  Bhuvana oru kelvi kuri, Deepam, Gayathri, Indur pol enrum vaazhga, Kavikuyil, Murugan Adimai, Pattina pravesam, Sila nerangalil sila manihargal, Thalaya Salangaiya, Thunai Iruppal Meenakshi .. .. ..  (pictured here is a theatre in Ponneri for illustration and not connected directly to the post !)

 

Rewinding back – list of some of the movies released in  1977  - MGR Sivaji Ganesan were replaced by Kamal Rajnikanth, there were others too !!  not about Cinema but about people going to movies or rather buying Movie tickets. 

There would be four shows in a days (12 – 4 – 7 – 10) !! Premier Ticket in Devi Paradise would cost Rs.2.90 - - there were two ways – stand in the Queue buy tickets or in the noon go and stand in Advance reservation Q ! [third way – was buying ticket through known persons, some working in theatres!] 

Then there was another too – buying Ticket in Black !  - from touts who would sell 2.90 @ 5 or even 10 depending on the time and demand !!  One of my friends bought a balcony ticket in black in front of a theatre in Aminjikarai and got the shock of life when he learnt that there was no balcony in that theatre !! – and there were people who would buy a black ticket to watch movies like Shivaji, the Boss – having the plot of eradication of black money.    

Read about an interesting case before Delhi Court – in the matter of State Vs   Bankim Chandu Lal   & Ors instituted in 1999 and judgement pronounced in July 2018 – as per chargesheet  in Sept 1997, a   CTC   Squad   of   Indian   Railways conducted a surprise checking in Train No.2472, Swaraj Express, traveling between Jammu and Mumbai, for the purpose of finding out passengers who were traveling by way of  tickets bought from persons who were involved in black marketing of tickets and  also to   find   out   passengers   who   were   traveling   in   the   train   without ticket.  On   checking   they   found   that accused   persons   named   Bankim   Chadu   Lal,   Rajni   and   Atul   Kumar   were   traveling   in   Coach   No.S3   with  tickets  issued   against emergency quota.  During inquiry, it was found that the said tickets were provided on the recommendation of Member of Parliament namely Sh. Raju Bhai Parmar and further enquiry revealed that   the said letter was never issued by him. The accused persons had   told   the   checking   party   that   the   said   tickets   were   arranged through one travel agency   having its office at Chawri Bazar, Hauz Qazi and it was not one authorized by Railways.  

Cricket fans of Chennai know the pain and anguish of trying for IPL match tickets on the official website and designated Pay sites as massive queue of over lakh people would be in waiting.   Have also seen thousands waiting outside Chepauk to get into the queue- and people getting disappointed. Tickets are sold at a very high cost by some people infront of the stadium on the day of the match and surprisingly some buy tickets even after 15 / 18 / 20 overs !!! 

Hundreds of fans of Taylor Swift, Beyoncé and other musicians filed a lawsuit accusing Ticketmaster and its parent company Live Nation of price gouging, alleging both companies have colluded with venues to increase the price of tickets—marking the latest complaint against Ticketmaster following a federal antitrust lawsuit filed earlier this year. 

A lawsuit is a civil legal action by one person or entity (the plaintiff) against another person or entity (the defendant), to be decided in a court. Depending on the remedy sought and the venue where the plaintiff files the lawsuit, the case might be heard by a court of law or a court of equity. 

Kinder Law filed a lawsuit Friday in the Superior Court of California in Los Angeles County accusing Ticketmaster and Live Nation of breach of contract, fraud, negligence, negligent misrepresentation and antitrust violations.  The latest complaint—representing 365 fans of Swift, Beyoncé, The Cure and others—expands on an earlier case filed by the law firm in December 2022 and alleges Ticketmaster and Live Nation have engaged in a “pattern of racketeering activity” while violating the Racketeer Influenced and Corrupt Organizations Act (RICO). Live Nation and Ticketmaster “exploit” a relationship with stadium venues owned by Live Nation to “achieve the purpose of their enterprise,” which requires fans to use Ticketmaster exclusively for tickets “at prices that exceed what a competitive market would dictate,” the complaint alleges.

Neither Ticketmaster nor Live Nation immediately responded to a request for comment from Forbes. Kinder Law has requested a trial by jury, though it’s not immediately clear whether their claims will be taken to court. The law firm has requested unspecified damages—suggesting each fan suffered a loss in “the amount of thousands of dollars”—in addition to other punitive damages that would be determined at trial. 

Ticketmaster and Live Nation have become the focus of litigation in recent years, including Kinder Law’s lawsuit in 2022. That complaint is similar to their latest filing and accuses both companies of various charges and antitrust violations following Swift’s Eras Tour, during which millions of fans were unable to acquire tickets, the firm alleges. In 2022, Ticketmaster canceled the general sale for the tour after its website crashed during pre-sale, and Live Nation President Joe Berchtold claimed the issue was caused by scalpers amid a “cyberattack.” The Justice Department and 29 attorneys general sued Live Nation and Ticketmaster in May, accusing the companies of holding a monopoly that caused fans to pay more in fees for tickets.  

 
Liability suits of such nature are virtually unknown in India.
 
Regards – S Sampathkumar
17.11.2024