Ticket Resale Fees Head to Jury Trial in 2028
Buyers of concert and event tickets could see resale fees examined in court over limit-evading broker accounts.
Updated on Nov. 2, 2026 in Residential
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The Federal Trade Commission and four states, including Colorado, Florida, Illinois, and Nebraska, filed a jury demand in federal court in Los Angeles on October 27, 2026, in their lawsuit against Live Nation and Ticketmaster. The suit alleges the companies resold tickets that brokers obtained by getting around ticket purchase limits, affecting people who buy concert and event tickets through the platform.
Why it matters
For households that buy tickets to concerts, sports, and live events, the case targets whether resale fees are being layered on top of purchases that were obtained through limit-evading broker accounts. The jury demand sets up a potential trial over those issues, while the court itself will decide whether to order the practices stopped.
The jury demand was filed 14 days after the companies answered the complaint on October 13, 2026. The plaintiffs' proposed April 24, 2028 jury trial date and the companies' proposed October 2, 2028 bench trial date are still under consideration by the court.
The players
Federal Trade Commission
The federal consumer-protection agency that brought the BOTS Act lawsuit over ticket resale practices affecting event buyers.
Live Nation Entertainment
The parent company of Ticketmaster, one of the largest concert and live-event ticketing and promotion businesses in the United States.
Ticketmaster
The ticket-sales platform used by many concert and sports fans, now facing claims over resale fees and limit enforcement.
Maame Ewusi-Mensah Frimpong
The U.S. District Judge handling the case who denied the companies' motion to dismiss in full.
The details
The plaintiffs allege that brokers used multiple Ticketmaster accounts to exceed posted ticket limits, then bought those tickets and resold them on the platform. The complaint further alleges Ticketmaster collected fees again when those same tickets changed hands on its resale marketplace. The FTC and seven states first sued in September 2025, and U.S. District Judge Maame Ewusi-Mensah Frimpong denied the companies' motion to dismiss in full on September 28, 2026.
Timeline
September 2025: The FTC and seven states sued Live Nation and Ticketmaster.
April 15, 2026: A federal jury in Manhattan found the companies illegally monopolized parts of the live events market.
September 28, 2026: Judge Frimpong denied the motion to dismiss in full.
October 27, 2026: The FTC and four states filed the jury trial demand in Los Angeles.
The Home Front
The case sits within a broader pattern of federal scrutiny of ticket pricing, where resale fees have become a recurring consumer cost on top of face-value prices. It follows a jury verdict earlier in 2026 that already found the companies illegally monopolized parts of the live events market.
If you regularly buy event tickets, check the resale and fee details on any ticket before paying, and keep your confirmation emails in case you need to document a purchase later. Households planning entertainment budgets may want to account for resale fees as a possible added cost when buying through secondary markets.
The takeaway
The case shows that the price on a ticket can change after the first sale, so comparing the final checkout total against the face value is a useful habit. Keep records of any ticket purchase and its fees in case a resale dispute or refund question comes up later.
What happens next
The court was due to set case deadlines at a scheduling conference on October 29, 2026.
Further reading
For more on household costs that shape home and family budgets, explore our Residential coverage.
Source note: This article includes information reported by Music Business Worldwide.
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