Little Opry Concert Refunds

The owners of a southern Indiana venue that burned in a 2008 arson fire recently reached an agreement with the state attorney general to refund ticketholders for canceled shows.

Attorney General Greg Zoeller filed suit against the owners of the Little Nashville Opry last year seeking refunds for consumers who’d purchased tickets and sought refunds ranging from $48 to $2,066.

“Little Nashville Opry and the state have reached a consent judgment for $26,500 to be returned to consumers who have waited more than two years to see money that was rightfully owed to them,” Zoeller wrote in a statement. “The theater fire was a great loss for the community and undoubtedly a loss for customers who purchased tickets in good faith.”

The AG’s office also noted in its complaint that the company violated Indiana’s Deceptive Consumer Sales Act and had failed to obtain a legally required entertainment permit.

Esther Hamilton, who built the 2,000-seat hall with her husband in 1974, said last year she planned to refund tickets and was waiting on insurance money. But a judge ruled that the Opry’s sprinkler system wasn’t properly maintained and the owners weren’t owed any insurance money.

As part of the agreement, the owners will pay $10,000 toward the consent judgment immediately and the remainder of the money within one year, plus $1,000 in costs and a $5,000 civil penalty.