Proposed Class Action Lawsuit Launched Against StubHub

New York ticket buyer Louis Sanquini has filed a proposed $5 million class action lawsuit against ticketing company StubHub, alleging deceptive practices and fraudulent misrepresentation over the company’s claims it’s simply a fan-to-fan marketplace.

Questions raised:

• The filing comes in the wake of an investigation by the Canadian Broadcasting Corporation (CBC), which argued StubHub’s portrayal of itself as a “marketplace for fans to buy and sell tickets” is at odds with information disclosed in SEC filings.

• The SEC filings show that StubHub CEO Eric Baker is also part owner and managing director of Andro Capital.

• According to the filings, Andro Capital is a fund that resells millions of dollars’ worth of tickets on StubHub.

• The filings also disclose an agreement between StubHub and an affiliate of Andro Capital to finance other high-volume ticket resellers.

• The disclosures raise questions about StubHub’s claims that it simply provides “a safe and secure ticket marketplace” where “fans buy from and sell tickets to one another,” as per its website.

Class action:

• Sanquini filed the proposed class action in the Southern District of New York on Monday, arguing consumers were “kept in the dark” about the Andro Capital connection, believing that StubHub was a “neutral” marketplace, as per CBC.

• StubHub declined the network’s requests for comment.