Ned Goldstein, senior vice president and general counsel of
Ticketmaster Corp., relates that the following suits have been filed
against the company:
- A teenage boy sued after being injured in the "mosh pit"
at a rock concert, an area where the less inhibited slam-dance and
pass each others' writhing bodies over their heads.
- A man bought a ticket to a Chavez fight, became drunk, got into a fight
himself, fell down a flight of stairs, and died. His family sued
Ticketmaster, along with the fight promoter, the venue, and vendors
who sold products at the venue.
- A man who received a gift certificate for tickets but failed to
redeem it before the expiration date filed a class action lawsuit
under the theory that expiration dates constitute an "unfair
business practice."
- A man who was so anxious to buy tickets to a concert that he
decided to sleep on the street next to Pennsylvania Station in New
York for three days so that he could be the first in line when tickets
became available was mugged, and he sued Ticketmaster four years
later.
- A Colorado woman held an outdoor concert at an Indian swap meet
and decided to do the ticketing through Ticketmaster. She then
advertised the event at a nonexistent venue and signed up obscure
artists to take part. On the day of the event the temperature soared
to 104 degrees, and attendance was sparse. She sued Ticketmaster for
$300,000, even though all of Ticketmaster's contracts explicitly state
that there is no guarantee of minimum ticket sales.
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