LOS ANGELES (CelebrityAccess) — Live Nation‘s share price took a hit on Thursday after a Federal judge denied the entertainment company’s request to have its ongoing anti-trust case moved from Washington D.C. to New York.
US District Judge Arun Subramanian ruled against Live Nation’s request to change venue for the case, determining that retention-of-jurisdiction provision in Live Nation’s consent decree with the government does not apply.
“Because this case isn’t seeking to 1) carry out, 2) construe, 3) modify, 4) enforce, or 5) punish violations of the decree, it’s different from defendants’ cited cases, where a prior agreement was directly implicated,” Judge Subramanian wrote in his decision rejecting the venue change.
Judge Subramanian also rejected Live Nation’s lawyers’ argument that a transfer of the case to a Federal court in New York was not warranted on merits of convenience to the parties or the interests of justice.
“Because the consent decree’s retention-of-jurisdiction provision doesn’t apply to this case, defendants are left trying to prove that transfer would nevertheless serve the convenience of the parties and the interests of justice. They don’t come close to carrying their burden on this front. No one contests that this case could have been brought in DC, but even defendants acknowledge that New York and DC are “equally convenient.”” Judge Subramanian wrote in his decision on Thursday.
Following the ruling, Live Nation’s stock fell by more than a percent from $111.75 to $109, but recovered slightly by early afternoon.
