SAN FRANCISCO (Legal Newsline) - A Santa Clara man is suing a professional football team and a ticket-selling corporation over claims they participated in anticompetitive practices to monopolize and restrict ticket sales.
Amir Kazemzadeh, individually and for all others similarly situated, filed a class action complaint on Aug. 5 in U.S. District Court Northern District of California against the San Francisco 49ers and Ticketmaster LLC, alleging violations to the Sherman Antitrust Act.
The complaint states that Kazemzadeh purchased 49ers season tickets, which, as he had done for the past three seasons, he intended to offer for sale on a ticket website if he would not attend a particular game.
The complaint alleges that for the 2015-2016 season, the 49ers decided to limit the release of season tickets until 72 hours prior to the game, unless the tickets were accessed and sold through the NFL Ticket Exchange, powered by Ticketmaster.
As a result, the plaintiff could not access and sell his tickets to a buyer unless he used the Ticketmaster-run exchange system.
The complaint further alleges that the mandate described above restrains competition and harms consumers, who must pay ticket exchange fees and are prevented from seeking lower fees from other ticket websites, and who must deal with a price floor that prevents prices from falling below face value.
These practices are in violation of Section 1 and 2 of the Sherman Antitrust Act, the complaint alleges.
Kazemzadeh seeks damages, restitution, and injuctive relief, plus court costs.
He is represented by Abbas Kazerounian of Kazerouni Law Group APC in Costa Mesa, Calif.; S. Masih Rezvanpour of RKR Legal APC in Costa Mesa; and Joshua B. Swigart and Naomi B. Spector of Hyde & Swigart in San Diego.
U.S. District Court Northern District of California case number: 5:15-cv-03593-NC.