Ultra Music Festival faces a huge class action over refund policy

When Covid-19 hit hard, Ultra Music Festival (UMF), which was to be in Downtown Miami, was one of the first major international music events to be affected by the virus, forcing the festival to “postpone” their March 2020 edition to 2021. They set the leading example for all other major festivals and events around the world on what to do, and not to do, when it came to ticket transfers. Following the postponement, UMF put into place a “no refunds” policy, where ticket holders for the 2020 edition would have 30 days to simply decide if they were to postpone their ticket to 2021, or 2022.

Undoubtedly, this caused an uproar with ticket holders, and it has been revealed that two Florida residents, Samuel Hernandez and Richard Montoure, have filed a class action against the festival giant. The lawsuit, filed on Tuesday (May 26th) in Florida Southern District Court, alleges the two men have tried working amicably with the UMF to have the cost of their tickets reimbursed, and instead, have found UMF’s refund policy (or lack of) unfair and inequitable.

According to the 25-page complaint, the two festival goers have spent well over a combined total of $4,000USD on tickets. The company sent ticket holders information that their 2020 tickets were valid for Ultra Miami 2021 or 2022. They also offered special offers, ticket packages/upgrades and merchandise in a bid to compensate for the postponement of the festival, but no word of a cash refund. Ticket holders originally had 30 days to choose a date they wanted to attend in the next two years, but the lawsuit states that the company repeatedly chose to extend the decision period due to ticket holders' reluctance in the agreement.

In accordance with the refund policy, UMF maintains the “sole and absolute discretion to either issue full or partial refunds to purchasers, not issue any refunds at all” and further specifies that if an event is cancelled for reasons beyond its control, such as government action, the company may, at its discretion, “issue a full or partial refund to the buyer”, postpone the event to a later date and/or offer the buyer “redress” comparable. UMF’s terms and conditions also state that if the company reschedules an event, customers will not be entitled to a refund, and with Ultra declaring their 2020 edition rescheduled, rather than cancelled, such provision creates an “unenforceable unilateral option contract” the lawsuit argues.

Attorneys representing the two men estimate the outcome of the lawsuit is that it seeks more than $5 million in damages and financial compensation from the complainants and the class, and are asking the court to demand Ultra reimburses ticket holders on a refund basis for money paid for their tickets.

Attorney for the class, Joe Sauder of Sauder Schelkopf, released the below statement:

“We understand that the Covid-19 pandemic has affected all parts of the global economy, but we do not believe that this gives the Ultra Music Festival the right to shift the burden of this extraordinary crisis to its customer, who, in some cases, have paid hundreds of dollars to attend this festival and now the Covid-19 pandemic had, or will, prevent them from using any credit. We look forward to seeking to recover cash refunds for our clients and the class members.”

We will be keeping a close eye on the progress of this class action, and bring you updates on the outcome.