HOUSTON — Not long after Astroworld ticketholders were offered a full refund, posts started spreading on social media warning people that if they accept the refund, they may also give up their right to sue. Someone asked the Verify team to find out if that is true.
A post on Twitter reads, “Please be careful accepting a refund, they may try to waive their liability.”
Another Tweet, “READ THE FINE PRINT! Be sure accepting Travis Scott Astroworld “refund” doesn’t waive your right to sue or that he is using the “refund” pass as compensation for your pain and suffering!”
Kimberly asked the Verify if that is true.
We have two sources for this:
- Live Nation, the company that sold tickets for the Astroworld event
- KHOU Legal Analyst Carmen Roe
According to the concert waiver, those who bought tickets “agree that any dispute or claim … Will be resolved by binding, individual arbitration, rather than in court. By agreeing to individual arbitration, you … waive any right to participate in a class action lawsuit or class-wide arbitration.”
KHOU Legal Analyst Carmen Roe says, while that includes waiving the risk of any hazard that may happen at a concert, what occurred at Astroworld may not be protected under that agreement.
“Negligence and gross negligence are not part of that. And that is exactly what a lot of these lawsuits are setting out. So, anyone who was the subject of this company's negligence or gross negligence, will still be able to sue no matter what those terms and conditions say,” Roe said.
As for concert refunds, Roe says, those are not necessarily covered under the original purchase agreement, but that could change.
“The fine print on Live Nation’s website, their terms and conditions suggest that at any time, they can change the terms and conditions and that you've already agreed to them. So, you need to keep your eyes open,” Roe said.
Roe says there are a few things ticketholders need to look for before accepting any kind of refund.
“What they need to look for specifically, is the word 'Waiver,' 'Consent' 'Agreement' of any kind," she says. "And most importantly, they need to be concerned if they're asked to sign anything. Refunds should not come with a signature. So, in this particular case, Live Nation has suggested they're going to refund these people, and that this is all going to be on the up and up. That shouldn't require their signature under any circumstances."
So, we can Verify it is possible that ticket refunds may include a waiver that says you cannot sue if you get your money back, but that has not yet been announced.
Astroworld ticketholders were given wristbands instead of an actual physical ticket. Roe says, in this case, that is the same thing. Your band binds you to those terms and agreements.
We reached out to Live Nation about how they plan to handle the concert refunds, but we have not heard back from them.