LN Won’t Face Parking Suit

Live Nation won’t face a class action suit over parking fees automatically added to ticket purchases, a Chicago judge ruled in a case stemming from an O.A.R. concert at Charter One Pavilion in 2010.

James Batson bought a ticket, which included a $9 parking fee, and walked to the show. He claimed he was never informed he could have parking validated at a nearby parking garage.  He called the $9 fee a “forced parking charge” and claimed that he “was forced to either purchase parking or decline to attend the concert altogether – the tickets could not be purchased apart from the parking.”

He and his attorneys also claimed the fee violated antitrust laws against “tying” two separate products – parking and entertainment – and violated Chicago “green” policies that promote non-vehicular modes of transportation.

U.S. District Judge Gary Feinerman disagreed, dismissing the amended complaint with prejudice March 13 – meaning the charge can not be refiled.

“Batson argues that Defendant’s practice ‘violates public polices in favor of walking, biking, and public transportation’ and against ‘drunk driving,’” Feinerman wrote. “Batson’s premise seems to be that a concert-goer who buys a ticket with an embedded $9 parking fee would drive and park rather than walk and take public transportation – just for the sake of using the space that he paid for – and then, to boot, would drink too much at the concert and drive home. 

“That certainly is not what Batson did; he walked to the concert, bought his ticket, and then did not go back home, pick up his car, and claim his rightful parking space.”