NEW ORLEANS – A Louisiana man has filed a proposed class action lawsuit against TicketMaster and similar ticket-purchasing companies, alleging he and others have no choice but to ultimately do business with TicketMaster.
Plaintiff Stephen P. Smith, of Orleans Parish, filed his lawsuit June 30 in the U.S. District Court for the Eastern District of Louisiana.
The named defendants include TicketMaster LLC, Vivid Seats LLC and SeatGeek Inc.
“This class action lawsuit seeks to represent a class of individual consumers who used SeatGeek or Vivid to purchase tickets to concerts, sporting events or other cultural events, only to be redirected to TicketMaster, without their knowledge or consent, and forced to conduct business with an entity they would otherwise choose not to,” the 11-page complaint states.
Smith argues that when a customer purchases tickets for an event through Vivid or SeatGeek, they automatically get diverted to TicketMaster to procure the actual tickets – without being warned before purchasing.
In May 2025, Smith said he used SeatGeek to purchase tickets to a Jason Aldeen concert in Dallas. After withdrawing the purchase price from his bank account, he claims he was redirected without notice to the TicketMaster website for completion of the transaction.
“Nowhere on SeatGeek’s website ‘about’ section does TicketMaster appear,” the complaint states. “A potential customer is not made aware that SeatGeek will funnel him or her to and through TicketMaster to complete their transaction.”
He noted in his complaint that he has a “long-standing distaste” for TicketMaster due to various customer service issues he previously suffered and TicketMaster’s “seeming monopoly” on the ticket-purchasing industry.
Smith canceled the transaction and SeatGeek issued a refund.
Smith said he tried in June using Vivid to buy tickets for the same Jason Aldeen concert in Dallas. Once again, he was redirected to TicketMaster to complete his $806 purchase.
Vivid’s website also fails to mention TicketMaster by name, he pointed out.
“Again, a customer may be made aware that he or she will be transferred to the ticket seller for acquisition of the tickets, but he or she is not made aware that he or she will be forced to conduct business with TicketMaster,” the complaint states.
This time, however, TicketMaster notified Smith that it could not transfer the purchased tickets to his email address. He claims his address was “targeted and/or flagged for some sort of improper activity.”
“Incensed, Plaintiff sought another reimbursement for his ticket purchase, but this time, Vivid refused to refund Plaintiff’s $806,” his complaint states. “Plaintiff was informed that he could attempt to resell the tickets to other users, but that this would result in additional fees, and there was no guarantee that the sale price would match the purchase price.”
Smith claims neither TicketMaster nor Vivid has yet to refund his $806 – and neither will they produce the concert tickets.
“Plaintiff is expected to simply accept the Defendants’ edicts,” the complaint states.
The filing accuses the companies of breaching their contracts with Smith and the proposed class by forcing them to conduct business with a company not of their choosing and by refusing to refund their purchases.
“As a result of the foregoing breaches of contract, Plaintiff and other members of the Class have been damaged in that they not only lost the purchase prices due to Defendants’ failure to refund ticket prices, but also by violating a fundamental tenant of American capitalism that consumers are free to do, or not to do business with any entity of their choosing,” the complaint states.
“Plaintiff and other Class members got less than what they agreed to when they decided to purchase tickets through SeatGeek or Vivid. The foregoing did not occur by happenstance or conditions out of Defendants’ control.”
Smith believes there could be “thousands” of members in the proposed class.
His lawsuit seeks a certification of the class; an order enjoining the companies from withholding class members’ funds; costs; restitution; damages, including punitive damages; attorneys’ fees; and an order requiring the companies pay both pre- and post-judgment interest.
New Orleans law firm Michaud Consumer Law LLC is representing Smith.
