StubHub Hit with Class Action Lawsuit

StubHub has been hit with a $5 million class action lawsuit that claims it tricks buyers into believing they are purchasing tickets that are “guaranteed” to be authentic, but does not actually back up this guarantee.

The StubHub class action lawsuit was filed by New Jersey resident Joseph Fabozzi, who claims he was denied admission to a Stone Temple Pilots show after buying a ticket through StubHub.com. Fabozzi says he paid about $50 for his tickets and traveled all the way to the show only to discover his ticket had already been used by another fan.

“Even though StubHub makes numerous ‘guarantees’ on its website that a ticket purchased by a buyer will be ‘authentic’ and ‘valid for entry,’ in reality, StubHub does not guarantee the fact that a ticket will be ‘authentic’ and ‘valid for entry’ at all,” the class action lawsuit states.

“The fine print in StubHub’s FanProtect Guarantee reveals that StubHub does not guarantee that the tickets sold on its website will be ‘authentic’ and ‘valid for entry’ — StubHub only guarantees that if a ticket is not honored by the venue, StubHub will refund the buyer cost of the ticket(s), including service fees and shipping and handling charges,” the StubHub class action lawsuit continues.

When Fabozzi complained to StubHub, they refunded his money, but Fabozzi claims that he and other Class Members are “entitled to damages equal to two times the contracted price of the ticket” under California’s ticket resale law, which makes it illegal for ticket sellers to misrepresent that they can deliver a ticket. Under the law, Class Members are also entitled to any nonrefundable expenses they paid to attend or attempt to attend an event they thought they had a ticket for.

According to the lawsuit, this equals at least $5 million in damages.

The StubHub class action lawsuit is brought on behalf of all persons who purchased a ticket on StubHub.com from July 25, 2007 through the present and who were dined entry to the event because the ticket(s) were not valid for entry.

A copy of the StubHub Class Action Lawsuit can be read here.

The case is Joseph Fabozzi v. StubHub, Inc., Case No. 11-cv-6387, U.S. District Court, Northern District of California, San Francisco Division.