New York — the Antitrust prosecution The Live Nation and Ticketmaster cases resumed Monday in federal court in New York, with thirty states remaining in the case a week after the Justice Department settled its claims and withdrew.
Judge Arun Subramanian greeted jurors in Manhattan federal court by asking them if they had heard any news about the trial in the week it was suspended after one week of testimony.
After the jurors did not raise their hands, he told them that Arkansas, Nebraska and South Dakota had settled the claims and were no longer part of the case.
Testimony then resumed with attorneys for the remaining states questioning Jay Marciano, CEO of AEG Presents, Live Nation’s main competitor.
For a time last week, it looked like the trial might not go ahead at all. The states requested a mistrial after US government lawyers said they had reached a tentative settlement. After the judge urged the states to negotiate for several days with Live Nation’s lawyers, the states withdrew their invalid request and Subramanian said the trial would resume on Monday.
Lawyers for the states indicated on Friday that seven states were on track to join the settlement planned by the federal government, but the judge said that any state that had not reached a final signed agreement by Monday would remain in the case until it did.
As the trial resumed, 36 states and the District of Columbia continued to press allegations that Live Nation Entertainment and its ticket company, Ticketmaster, Preventing competition and raising prices for the masses. They say this was done through threats, retaliation and other methods to control nearly every aspect of the industry, from concert promotion to ticketing.
Lawyers for Live Nation and Ticketmaster tried to show jurors that the entertainment and ticketing business is more complex than the states make it out to be, and that it’s impossible to monopolize an industry largely controlled by the artists, sports teams and venues that set prices and decide how to sell tickets.
The Justice Department said last week that it had settled its case after winning concessions from Live Nation that would open up some tickets to competing ticket companies and ultimately lower prices for consumers. Many countries Criticize the dealSaying that the federal government failed to obtain sufficient concessions from the company.