StubHub Is Suing Ticketmaster And Golden State Warriors Over Ticket Sales

eBay Inc EBAY-owned StubHub said on Monday that it has filed a lawsuit (check out the full complaint here) against Ticketmaster -owned by Live Nation Entertainment, Inc. LYV- and the front office of the NBA’s Golden State Warriors.

StubHub, U.S.’ largest ticket reseller, alleges that Ticketmaster and the Golden State Warriors worked together to cancel tickets that were resold via StubHub. In its blog, StubHub said it “seeks to stop unfair and illegal anti-competitive business practices that prevent fans from deciding how they want to resell their tickets and which artificially drive up ticket prices.”

The complaint says that Ticketmaster and the Warriors’ front office violated the national antitrust law and California lawagainst unfair competition by cancelling the tickets. “In many more cases, the Complaint says, Ticketmaster and the Warriors’ front office broke the law by unlawfully threatening fans with cancellation to force them to use Ticketmaster’s resale exchange exclusively,” the blog adds.

A StubHub spokesperson then said that they believe “fans, not front-office executives, have the right to decide how—and for how much—resale tickets will be bought and sold.”

“Despite repeated requests by StubHub, the Warriors and Ticketmaster executives refused to play fair, to respect the fans, and to obey the law,” the company said. “StubHub’s only option therefore remains to seek relief in federal court to stop these anticompetitive business practices. StubHub simply wants Ticketmaster and the Warriors front office to embrace competitive efforts rather than monopoly tactics.”