Seattle-based ticketing company Brown Paper Tickets will pay back approximately $9 million to an estimated 45,000 event organizers and ticket purchasers as part of a resolution reached with Washington state Attorney General Bob Ferguson.
The AG’s office filed a consent decree (read in full at bottom) in King County Superior Court on Monday, five months after Ferguson filed suit against the 11-year-old company. According to a news release, Ferguson’s office said it received 1,200 complaints about Brown Paper Tickets’ conduct between March 19, 2020, and Feb. 23 of this year.
COVID-19 hit hard: Ferguson said many of the organizers seeking payment were for small, nonprofit or community-based events, like those at community centers, schools or children’s theaters. When the COVID-19 pandemic hit and brought about the cancellation of most live events, Brown Paper Tickets’ revenue dried up and it was unable to meet outstanding obligations to pre-pandemic event organizers or to ticket buyers who requested refunds for canceled events.
Examples of those impacted:
- A youth arts organization in Bellingham staged two performances in February and March and earned in excess of $3,000 in ticket sales. Despite having collected payments from ticket buyers, Brown Paper Tickets failed to pay the organization.
- A community events organizer used Brown Paper Tickets to collect camping fees for an outdoor festival it planned in late March. Brown Paper Tickets collected nearly $7,000 from 93 ticket buyers but failed to provide refunds to ticket buyers after the event was canceled.
- A Seattle resident paid Brown Paper Tickets approximately $300 for a child to attend a summer camp. When the camp was canceled due to COVID-19, the parent could not obtain a refund.
Brown Paper Tickets statement: On its website Monday, Brown Paper Tickets called the resolution a “continuation of its efforts to fully refund all ticket buyers and issue payments to all event organizers,” adding that it has remained “committed to its customers throughout the pandemic,” even though the pace of those payments was slowed by the crisis.
What’s next: Under the resolution, Brown Paper Tickets is required to submit a detailed report on the progress of the refunds to the AG’s office every 30 days. The company has seven months to pay the refunds from the date of the consent decree.
Last word: “For most of the year, we’ve had to sacrifice in-person events,” Ferguson said. “Today’s resolution ensures Brown Paper Tickets will uphold its promises to these essential community spaces by returning the millions of dollars it owes them, and puts money back into the pockets of thousands of individuals across the country.”
Court document:
