A number of federal lawsuits filed in reaction to a change to StubHub refund policies on cancelled events in the wake of the coronavirus pandemic are being consolidated and moved to California. The U.S. District Court for the Northern District of California, where four lawsuits were filed and StubHub has its headquarters, will serve as the venue, per the decision by the U.S. Judicial Panel on Multidistrict Litigation on Thursday.
StubHub announced in March that it would only allow refunds on cancelled events in locations where they were required by law. Everywhere else, consumers would receive a voucher good towards the purchase of future event tickets on the marketplace rather than a refund. The StubHub refund decision drew fire from a number of sources, and has spurred litigation by consumers and consideration of its legality from authorities as well.
“Centralization in one court will eliminate duplicative discover, avoid inconsistent pretrial rulings, particularly on class certification, and conserve the resources of the parties, their counsel, and the judiciary,” the panel said in its decision.
Similar lawsuits against VividSeats and SeatGeek were not lumped in with the StubHub refund lawsuits, due to the companies employing different terms of use and headquarters in other juridictions.
Judge Haywood S. Gilliam Jr. will preside over the combined litigation. An appointee of President Barack Obama, Gilliam has served as United States District Judge since 2014.
