StubHub Suit Over Hidden Fees Headed For Court

– StubHub

StubHub and eBay must go to trial in a California civil suit, as a San Francisco judge ruled against the secondary-ticketing giant’s efforts to force the case into arbitration June 11.

Susan Wang filed suit against StubHub, Inc., and parent company eBay Inc. in February, claiming StubHub is practicing “bait and switch” advertising, alleging violation of the Unfair Competition Law, False Advertising Law and the Consumer Legal Remedies Act.

StubHub filed a motion March 26 requesting the judge send the matter to arbitration, claiming Wang was bound by the terms of the StubHub User Agreement that stipulates “any and all disputes or claims that have arisen or may arise between you and StubHub … shall be resolved exclusively through final and binding arbitration.”

Judge Harold Kahn of the San Francisco Superior Court ruled that Wang “adequately alleges sufficient facts that StubHub engaged in deceptive practice of bait and switch advertising, and that such false advertising was a substantial factor in influencing Ms. Wang’s decision to purchase tickets, thereby causing her economic injury.” Kahn decided that the claims were within the competence of the courts and did not require expert knowledge of the FTC, and that the matter would not thus be sent to arbitration immediately, as requested.

Wang’s suit cites a decision in Veera v. Bana Republic LLC, according to Law360. In that case customers were lured into the store with advertisements of a massive sale, but were then told some items weren’t for sale, and ended up paying the original price, which was ruled to be deceptive.

StubHub’s motion to compel arbitration cited numerous examples of opportunities at which Wang could have decided not to agree to the company’s User Agreement, including the registration on the site, purchase of products, the specific user agreement which does provide an opt-out option.

This will not be StubHub’s first legal dustup, as the company has locked horns with Ticketmaster, the New England Patriots and others over the years.

This is also not the first time StubHub is catching heat for “drip” pricing either. Last month StubHub UK updated its website to display all-in ticket prices after the Advertising Standards Authority took action against secondary ticketers. 

An independent law enforcement agency in Canada called out Ticketmaster and Live Nation earlier this year for its use of fees, basically echoing Wang’s claims against StubHub.