Ticketmaster Antitrust Suit Hinges on Arbitration Forum Discovery

Ticket-buyers suing Ticketmaster and its parent Live Nation Entertainment Inc. for alleged market monopolization are zeroing in on the companies’ ties to an arbitration startup that promises to handle their consumer claims more efficiently.

The plaintiffs of the proposed antitrust class action won a court order last week to conduct discovery on whether the companies and their counsel Latham & Watkins have conflicting ties to New Era ADR, the defendants’ new arbitration service provider. New Era aims to streamline mass arbitration for its corporate clients by arbitrating a few representative “bellwether” cases and applying the outcome to others.

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