A federal appeals court has ordered that Live Nation and Ticketmaster must face a class action lawsuit alleging the companies charged “extraordinarily high” prices to ticket buyers. The U.S. Court of Appeals for the Ninth Circuit ruled the companies cannot invoke their “opaque and unfair” user agreements to dismiss the case.

While purchasing tickets, Live Nation contended, fans agreed to private arbitration, giving up their rights to sue in court. But on 28 October, the court found those agreements to be “unconscionable and unenforceable” – blocking the fans from pursuing claims on fairly equal footing.

The court described the agreements as “dense, convoluted, and internally contradictory,” where even attorneys for Live Nation seemed to struggle explaining the terms during hearings. The ruling underlined that such arbitration conditions were unfair, making it almost impossible for consumers to seek justice.

This ruling comes amidst an antitrust case of illegal monopoly against Live Nation by the US Department of Justice regarding the live entertainment industry. An antitrust class-action lawsuit filed in 2022 claimed that Live Nation has monopolised the concert ticket market and “predatorily” excluded competitors from that market.

Although it tossed out an earlier class action in favour of arbitration, the Ninth Circuit’s decision opens Live Nation up to hundreds of individual claims. The court also assailed a new arbitration agreement, observing that because Ticketmaster controls most of the market, fans have no real alternative but to accept its terms.