Arizona ‘Swiftie’ taking part in lawsuit against Ticketmaster

GLENDALE, AZ (3TV/CBS 5) - Thousands of fans got their hands on a tough ticket to watch Taylor Swift live for her first concert of her Eras Tour in Swift City, but thousands of others missed out. They blame it on Ticketmaster.

Tiffany Paul, a Swifty from Arizona, said her family was excited to attend the first night of the Eras Tour in Glendale. They’re all die-hard fans of Taylor Swift. “I just love how genuine she is and how real she is,” said Paul.

When she heard her idol would be kicking off her Eras Tour in the Valley, she took a day off from work and logged onto Ticketmaster in November. She said she received her pre-sale code, and her hopes were high, but she ended up on a rollercoaster ride for six hours. “It kept kicking us out. Then when we finally got in again. We clicked on the tickets. It took us to the thing, and then it said, ‘We’re sorry. It’s us. It’s not you,” said Paul.

Thousands of 'Swifties' headed to State Farm Stadium in Glendale for the opening night of Taylor Swift's "Era" tour.

Now there’s bad blood between her, and over 300 other fans turned plaintiffs in a lawsuit against Ticketmaster. Griffin McMillin, an attorney with Kinder Law PLLC from Texas, said the firm filed the suit last year. He said the ticket company breached contracts through ‘fraudulent activity.’ “It was ridiculous. It was entirely caused by the fact that Ticketmaster and Live Nation are a monopoly that can just do whatever they want- screw over all the artists and all the fans and have no consequences because there’s nowhere else to go,” said McMillin.

The suit asks for monetary compensation for Swifties impacted by the ticket debacle, but McMillin, the plaintiffs, hope applying legal pressure will send Ticketmaster a bigger message. “Hopefully something can come from us coming together and shedding some light on it so Ticketmaster and Live Nation don’t think that ‘We’re untouchable’. Cause it’s not like that,” said Paul.

Arizona’s Family reached out to Ticketmaster but did not hear back. But following the website crash, Live Nation’s President and CFO said an overwhelming number of fans and bots on the site led to the issue. However, he did say the company must do better.

The first hearing is scheduled for March 27 in California. McMillin said there’s a possibility this case could go to trial.

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