Akin Gump Litigator Defeats Putative Class Action Case against AEG Live
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(Los Angeles) – A team led by Akin Gump litigation partner Neal Marder achieved a significant victory on behalf of AEG Live in a putative class action alleging consumer fraud related to the sale and distribution of concert tickets, when a judge in the U.S. District Court for the District of New Jersey dismissed the case, saying, among other things, it failed to allege injury to support Article III standing and only contained “threadbare assertions.”
The case, Pollard v. AEG Live LLC, was first filed in 2014, accusing AEG of violating the New Jersey Consumer Fraud Act (NJCFA). The plaintiff alleged that AEG wrongfully withheld tickets to Bon Jovi’s “The Circle” tour and Justin Bieber’s “Believe Tour,” both held in New Jersey, “by giving tickets to its sponsors, artists, media outlets and other music insiders,” resulting in inflated ticket prices for consumers.
The case went through several rounds of challenge to the pleadings. Following plaintiff’s filing of a Third Amended Complaint, Mr. Marder’s team moved to dismiss the lawsuit with prejudice arguing that the plaintiff lacked Article III standing to bring her claims. This, the defense team asserted, was because she did not suffer any injury-in-fact and had not plausibly alleged that AEG engaged in unlawful conduct as required by the NJCFA. The court agreed with AEG on both grounds and dismissed the case, without leave to amend.
Speaking about the ruling, Mr. Marder told Law360, “I think this is an important decision for the future for those plaintiffs who want to try and allege a claim under this particular statute and what’s going to be required. Quite obviously, we’re very pleased that Judge Chesler came to the right decision and dismissed the third amended complaint without leave.”
Mr. Marder joined Akin Gump earlier this month. More information about his arrival and background can be found here.
Founded in 1945, Akin Gump Strauss Hauer & Feld LLP is a leading international law firm with more than 900 lawyers in offices throughout the United States, Europe, Asia and the Middle East.
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