Two fans have filed a class action lawsuit against Madonna after her December concerts in New York City’s Barclays Center began more than two hours later than scheduled. The complaint alleges that the singer breached her contract with attendees and violated New York state laws by initiating her concert on December 13 at 10:30pm instead of at 8:30pm, the time on the tickets. The lawsuit extends to Madonna’s concerts at the same location on December 14 and 16, at which each concert began “over two hours late.”
The full document, filed by Michael Fellows and Jonathan Hadden, alleges that the concerts’ 8:30pm start time, as noted on the tickets, was “material to Plaintiffs’ agreement to purchase the tickets”, and that Madonna’s non-compliance with audience expectations of an 8:30pm start time caused legal damage to concertgoers who “had to get up early to go to work and/or take care of their family responsibilities the next day.” Additionally, Hadden and Fellows said that the concerts’ 1am conclusion resulted in ticket holders left “stranded in the middle of the night”, faced with “limited public transportation, limited ride-sharing, and/or increased public and private transportation costs”.
Madonna is not the exclusive defendant in the case. The complaint also names Live Nation, MTours, and Barclays Center as additional defendants, accusing all parties of breach of contract. None of the accused parties were immediately available for comment, and specific compensation for damages is yet to be disclosed. In recent news, the pop singer apologised for greeting her audience at the Toronto date of her ongoing “Celebration” tour by saying, “Are you ready, Boston?”
The attorneys representing Fellows and Hadden claimed that the concerts’ non-compliance with the advertised 8:30pm start time constituted “a wanton exercise in false advertising, negligent representation, and unfair and deceptive trade practices.” They invoked the General Business Law 149, stipulating that “deceptive acts or practices in the conduct of any business, trade or commerce or in the furnishing of any service in this state are hereby declared unlawful” on the violation of New York state laws. The document claimed that Madonna’s misrepresentation of the concerts’ start time, coupled with the failure to “provide notice to Plaintiffs and all Class Members that the concert would not start at 8:30pm” or provide them “the option of receiving a refund,” was a breach of this law
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