The World Cup is in full swing across the United States, Canada, and Mexico. Spectators are flocking to stadiums, despite controversy over the ticketing process. Live event costs continue to climb in 2026, and three companies sit at the heart of the controversy. A few months ago, a jury found Live Nation, the dominant player in the ticketing industry, to be operating a monopoly.
However, Docket Alarm analytics show that a recent spike in litigation has nothing to do with tickets, but instead concerns a data breach.
Federal courts have become an increasingly active venue for litigation targeting the live event ticketing industry, with three major platforms — Live Nation (and its subsidiary Ticketmaster), StubHub, and SeatGeek — facing distinct but thematically linked legal challenges over the past two years.
Docket Alarm analytics show an increase in litigation in recent years, even since Law Street’s last investigation into the space in 2024.
The most consequential action in the industry concluded its liability phase in April 2026, when a federal jury in the Southern District of New York returned a verdict for plaintiff states on all federal and state law antitrust claims against Live Nation Entertainment and Ticketmaster, finding that the companies unlawfully monopolized primary ticketing services and amphitheaters and tied their amphitheaters to concert promotion services. Live Nation was represented by Latham & Watkins; Sullivan & Cromwell; Sidley Austin; and Cravath, Swaine & Moore.
Ticketmaster sees the most federal litigation in this industry, with 150 cases. (Live Nation is named in another 106, likely with significant overlap as Live Nation acquired Ticketmaster in 2010.) StubHub is the runner-up, seeing 53 cases. Seatgeek, which originated in the resale market but now operates as both a primary and secondary market, has only been involved in 17 cases.
While the April antitrust verdict might be the most consequential for the industry, antitrust cases are not the highest volume case type for the industry. In terms of case types, Contract leads the pack. A spike of cases occurred in 2024 and 2025 – but these cases have little to do with Live Nation’s core business. Many cases have been filed against the company alleging that the plaintiffs’ personally identifiable information had not been properly secured, leading to its disclosure in a 2024 data breach.
