McMillan v. Live Nation Entertainment Inc et al
Filing
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CERTIFICATION ORDER, purs to Rule 6-8 of the Rules of the Supreme Court of the State of Arkansas, this Court certifies to the Supreme Court of Arkansas a question of law that may be determinative of this case. The Clerk is hereby directed to forward this Order to the Supreme Court of Arkansas under his official seal. Signed by Judge James M. Moody on 7/12/11. (kpr)
IN THE UNITED STATES DISTRICT COURT
EASTERN DISTRICT OF ARKANSAS
WESTERN DIVISION
COREY MCMILLAN, INDIVIDUALLY AND ON
BEHALF OF A CLASS OF SIMILARLY SITUATED PERSONS
V.
PLAINTIFFS
4:11CV00332 JMM
LIVE NATION ENTERTAINMENT, INC., ET AL.
DEFENDANTS
CERTIFICATION ORDER
Now on this 12
day of July, 2011, pursuant to Rule 6-8 of the Rules of the Supreme
Court of the State of Arkansas, this Court upon its own motion certifies to the Supreme Court of
Arkansas a question of law that may be determinative of this case and as to which it appears there
is no controlling precedent in the decisions of the Supreme Court of Arkansas.
I.
QUESTION OF LAW TO BE ANSWERED
Whether Arkansas Code Annotated § 5-63-201 is applicable to an exclusive agent of a
public facility who sells music entertainment tickets which include in the price of the ticket
additional fees resulting in the price of the ticket being more that the face value and advertised
price of the ticket?
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II.
ALLEGATIONS RELEVANT TO THE QUESTION
Plaintiff, individually and on behalf of a purported class, filed a complaint against
Defendants alleging Defendants charged fees in excess of the printed ticket price to customers
purchasing tickets to musical or entertainment events in Arkansas which Plaintiff contends
violates Arkansas Code Annotated § 5-63-201. Arkansas Code Annotated § 5-63-201(a)(1)(b)
states that it is unlawful for any person, corporation, firm, or partnership to sell or offer for sale
any ticket to “[a]ny music entertainment event at a greater price than that printed on the ticket or
the box office sale price plus any reasonable charge for handling or credit card use, whichever is
the greater.” Arkansas Code Annotated § 5-63-201 is a criminal statute and violation of the
statute constitutes a misdemeanor.
The allegations are that Defendants have the exclusive right to sell all tickets for any of
Verizon Arena’s (“Verizon”) attractions and that Verizon is a public facility. It is alleged that
Defendants sell tickets to the Verizon events by phone or over the internet and add additional
fees to the face value and advertised price of tickets sold. Plaintiff alleges that Defendants
uniformly and systematically add additional fees to the face value of tickets for events hosted at
Verizon and other venues for which it markets tickets. Plaintiff alleges that in order to attend the
musical event he was required to buy his ticket from Defendants and that Defendants sold him
four tickets charging him additional fees in the amounts of $2.00 for a “facility charge,” $9.40
for a “convenience charge,”and $4.00 for an “order processing fee.”
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III.
REFORMULATION OF THE QUESTION
The United States District Court hereby acknowledges that the Arkansas Supreme Court,
acting as the receiving court, may reformulate the question presented.
IV.
COUNSEL OF RECORD AND PARTIES
Attorney for Plaintiff, Corey McMillan and Proposed Class of Similarly Situated Persons:
Daniel Odell Turner
Arnold, Batson, Turner & Turner
Post office Box 480
Arkadelphia, AR 71923
(870) 246-9844
Rodney P. Moore
Wright, Berry, Hughes & Moore
Post Office Drawer 947
Arkadelphia, AR 71923-0947
(870) 246-7696
Todd Martin Turner
Arnold, Batson, Turner & Turner
Post Office Box 480
Arkadelphia, AR 71923
(870) 246-9844
Attorney for Defendants, Live Nation Entertainment, Inc., and Ticketmaster LLC:
Chad W. Pekron
Kristine Gerhard Baker
Robert Ryan Younger
Steven W. Quattlebaum
Quattlebaum, Grooms, Tull & Burrow
111 Center Street
Suite 1900
Little Rock, AR 72201-3325
(501) 379-1704
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The Clerk of this Court is hereby directed to forward this Order to the Supreme Court of
Arkansas under his official seal.
IT IS SO ORDERED.
______________________________
James M. Moody
United States District Judge
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