The US Department Of Justice has formally responded to efforts by Live Nation to move the lawsuit it filed against the live giant from a court in New York to a court in Washington DC.
Where the lawsuit will be fought out all comes down to the relationship between the DoJ’s lawsuit and the consent decree that was agreed by the DoJ and Live Nation in 2010, when Live Nation merged with Ticketmaster. The consent decree sought to allay competition concerns raised by the merging of the major promoter and venue operator with the ticketing business.
The new lawsuit accuses Live Nation of anticompetitive conduct and ultimately aims to reverse the merger, forcing a sale of Ticketmaster. Live Nation therefore argues that the new lawsuit basically “seeks to modify or enforce a prior consent decree”. Which means the legal battle should be heard by the DC court that oversees the 2010 agreement.
However, in its new filing the DoJ insists that its lawsuit is not about “modifying or enforcing” the consent decree. Because the allegations of anticompetitive conduct made against Live Nation go “far beyond” merely breaching the terms of the consent decree. Instead, it is accusing Live Nation of straight forward violations of US competition law, specifically the Sherman Act.
The DoJ then provides a handy list of the alleged anticompetitive conduct that goes beyond breaching the consent decree. It includes, “acquisitions of rival ticketers, amphitheaters, promotion companies and festivals; leveraging of secondary ticketing markets; agreements not to compete; cooperating rather than competing with actual and would-be competitors; forced access to competitors’ data; long-term exclusive agreements; conduct in fanfacing and artist-facing markets, and much more”.
There are also logistical reasons for fighting this legal battle in New York, the DoJ adds. “This case belongs in New York, a city that has long been a hub in the live music industry for artists, fans and industry participants”, it writes.
It then notes that “New York is home to two of Ticketmaster’s few competitors, twenty-plus entities from the parties’ initial disclosures, numerous amphitheaters and arenas, material non-party and party witnesses, and defendants’ largest office outside of California”.
Live Nation denies all the allegations of misconduct that have been made against it, as well as trying to get the lawsuit moved to DC.
Judges in New York previously seemed unconvinced by the arguments to move the dispute, though that was before Live Nation submitted its formal transfer motion. Nevertheless, the DoJ seems pretty confident that the case for keeping the lawsuit in New York is very strong.