NEW YORK (Legal Newsline) - Regal Cinemas will settle a class action lawsuit alleging a $1.80 booking fee for movies violates New York law.
So far, none of the 442,430 class members have objected to the terms of the agreement, which creates a fund of $2.5 million. Regal allegedly collected close to $2.4 million in unlawful fees.
"And just as important, the settlement also provides meaningful prospective relief aimed at the challenged conduct, as Defendant acknowledges that they changed their purchase flow process for tickets on its website to display the booking fee..." plaintiff attorneys wrote Feb. 19 in asking for final approval of the settlement.
Philip Fraietta of Bursor & Fisher brought the case on behalf of plaintiff Tim Jones. It alleges violation of the New York Arts & Cultural Affairs Law, passed in 2022.
Other fees must be disclosed in a "clear and conspicuous manner" prior to the ticket being selected for purchase. The plaintiffs said movie-goers were ambushed by the booking fee at checkout.
Class members will receive a pro rata cash payment from the settlement fund, which shrinks by one-third after Bursor & Fisher takes its fees - $833,333.33. Should New York federal judge Margaret Garnett award less, that difference will go into the fund for class members.
The New York law spawned a series of class actions against companies. Regal tried to eject in an April 12 motion to dismiss that was never ruled on because a notice of settlement came four months later
"States cannot elevate legal infractions into Article III injuries by creating a new cause of action," Regal argued.
"The ACAL does not prohibit booking fees; the ACAL endeavors to regulate the timing of a disclosure. But Plaintiff did not experience concrete harm by waiting a few moments to learn the exact amount before he decided to purchase a movie ticket."
The suit sought statutory damages of $50 per violation of the ACAL and claimed a ticking clock on the site pressures customers to quickly go through the purchase process without checking for fees.
"Because New York is a busy place, and because these fees are only flashed after a movie-goer selects their seats, Defendant can plausibly put its customers on a shot clock and tell them they need to decide quick, because Defendant cannot hold their seats open forever," the suit says.
"This cheap trick has enabled Defendant to swindle substantial sums of money from its customers."