A group of Eventbrite investors going by the name of, well, the Eventbrite Investor Group, have requested that two specific law firms be approved to lead on a class action lawsuit that will accuse the ticketing firm of making misleading statements ahead of its initial public offering last September. They also want any other litigation on the same issue to be merged with their own.
At least four US law firms have announced that they are considering instigating a class action against Eventbrite on behalf its investors since the company put out disappointing financial statements in March and May this year.
Particular attention has fallen on the ticketing firm's admission that integrating the Ticketfly business - which it acquired in 2017 - into the wider Eventbrite business was proving to be a challenge. Some argue that that admission contradicts what Eventbrite told potential investors before the IPO.
According to Law 360, the Eventbrite Investor Group has requested that their potential class action be led by the Rosen Law Firm and Glancy Prongay & Murray who, they told the court last week, "are experienced in the area of securities litigation and class actions, having been appointed as lead counsel or co-lead counsel in securities class actions in this district and in other courts throughout the nation".
It's proposed that any investor who bought Eventbrite shares at any point between the IPO last September and 7 Mar this year - when the company made the first of its disappointing financial statements - should be eligible to join the class action. Eventbrite's share price took a considerable hit after both the March and May statements and hasn't really recovered.
Noting that other legal action is being planned over the same issue, the Eventbrite Investor Group's legal filing also requested that the court consolidate all those cases "as they involve common questions of law and fact and consolidation would promote judicial economy".
Various Eventbrite executives and the banks that advised on and were underwriters of the IPO are also named as defendants on the investor group's lawsuit.