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Judge nixes settlement in case against Ticketmaster fees, sets trial date

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The trial must go on.

That was the word from a California Superior Court judge who rejected a settlement Ticketmaster had reached in December with plaintiffs of a class-action lawsuit claiming the Beverly Hills ticketing service misled consumers when it tacked on ‘delivery fees’ ranging from $14.50 to $25 per transaction.

Judge Kenneth Freeman’s June 3 decision, which only this week came to light, said the agreement ‘offered virtually no benefit to the class member.’

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Ticketmaster parent company Live Nation Entertainment, in disclosing the settlement in January, said it set aside $22.3 million to pay for legal fees and ‘cash payment and/or discounts off one or more future ticket purchases’ to affected consumers, subject to limits that the company did not specify.

In addition, Live Nation agreed to ‘make certain changes to disclosures on its website.’

The company also did not disclose how much it would refund consumers under the confidential settlement.

Freeman apparently thought those amounts were insufficient, and ordered a trial date set for Oct. 5. The plaintiff’s attorneys, Alvarado Smith in Santa Ana, declined to comment.

Live Nation, which merged with Ticketmaster in January 2010, declined to comment.

-- Alex Pham

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