Live Nation and Ticketmaster have asked a New York federal court to throw out the jury verdict that found the companies operated an illegal monopoly over concert ticketing.
If that request fails, they are asking US District Judge Arun Subramanian for a new trial.
The companies set out their final written arguments in reply briefs filed on Thursday (July 2), the last round of submissions before the judge rules on two post-trial motions.
The motions were filed on May 21 in the US District Court for the Southern District of New York, and target an April 15 verdict that has put the future of the Live Nation-Ticketmaster combination in question.
One motion, brought under Rule 50(b) of the Federal Rules of Civil Procedure, asks the court to enter judgment as a matter of law for the companies on every claim – a ruling that would override the jury.
The second, under Rule 59, seeks a new trial should the first motion fail.
In the judgment brief, which you can read here, Live Nation argues that the states secured what it calls “the first-ever jury trial in a government monopolization action,” then won with “made-for-juries emotional arguments.”
The states, the company says, want “nothing more for this Court to do but rubberstamp the jury verdict” – a position Live Nation calls “wrong on the law, on the record, and on this Court’s Rule 50(b) role.”
In the new-trial brief, which you can read here, Live Nation and Ticketmaster contend the verdict is “against the weight of the evidence” and was swayed by material that should never have reached the jury.
They point to testimony about the fees fans paid for parking and lawn-chair rentals, ticketing practices in Europe, and older conduct they say fell outside the case’s limitations period.
Also in their sights is a phrase from a Live Nation document – “robbing them blind baby” – that the company says the states urged jurors to treat as proof of monopoly.
The April 15 verdict followed a five-week trial in Manhattan, as reported by MBW.
The jury found that Live Nation and Ticketmaster illegally monopolized primary ticketing at major US concert venues, and that they overcharged consumers by USD $1.72 per ticket on sales between May 2020 and 2024.
During closing arguments, the states’ attorney Jeffrey Kessler told jurors that Live Nation is a “monopolistic bully” that controls 86% of the ticketing market for major concert venues.
Live Nation attorney David Marriott countered that the company’s success reflects the quality of its products, not illegal conduct, telling the court: “We are big. That is not against the laws in the United States.”
The case dates to May 2024, when the US Department of Justice sued the companies, joined by attorneys general from dozens of states and the District of Columbia, over the 2010 merger that united the promoter and the ticketing firm.
The trial began on March 2, after Judge Subramanian narrowed the government’s case in a February 18 summary judgment ruling.
A week into proceedings, the DOJ reached a settlement that allowed Live Nation to keep Ticketmaster.
A coalition of 33 states and the District of Columbia rejected that deal and pressed the case to a jury.
The same day the companies filed their motions, those states filed a remedy proposal seeking the divestiture of Ticketmaster, along with amphitheater sell-offs, limits on exclusive contracts, damages, civil penalties, disgorgement and restitution.
Live Nation is represented by Latham & Watkins and Cravath, Swaine & Moore.
In a statement issued after the verdict in April, Live Nation said “the jury’s verdict is not the last word on this matter,” adding that it can and will appeal any unfavorable rulings.
Live Nation said the $1.72 per-ticket award applies only to a limited number of tickets – those sold at 257 venues, about 20% of the total, and only to fan purchases in certain states over five years.
On that basis, the company put aggregate single damages below $150 million, a figure that would be trebled under antitrust law, and said it had already accrued $280 million toward state damages and civil penalty claims in connection with the DOJ settlement.
Alongside the two motions, Live Nation has a pending request to strike the damages testimony on which the jury’s award was based.
Judge Subramanian has yet to rule on any of the motions, which are due to be argued at a hearing on July 29.
Live Nation also noted in April that it remains confident that “the ultimate outcome of the States’ case will not be materially different than what is envisioned by the DOJ settlement.”Music Business Worldwide
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