StubHub Lawsuit Alleges Ticket Seller Fails to Deliver on Customer Protection Guarantees [UPDATE]
Last Updated on April 27, 2026
Christensen V. StubHub Holdings Inc.
Filed: October 10, 2025 ◆§ 2:25-cv-01957
A class action lawsuit alleges that StubHub fails to deliver on the terms of its guarantees to provide comparable tickets and refunds.
April 27, 2026 — StubHub Lawsuit Sent to Arbitration
The proposed class action lawsuit detailed on this page was sent to arbitration after a judge ruled that the plaintiff received “reasonably conspicuous notice” of StubHub’s terms and conditions, which require consumers to resolve disputes through arbitration rather than through class action lawsuits.
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In a 12-page order, U.S. District Judge Jamal N. Whitehead granted StubHub’s motion to compel arbitration and pause the case on the basis that the plaintiff agreed to the ticket seller’s user agreement when she signed into her account and purchased tickets in 2024.
The plaintiff alleged in the original complaint that StubHub failed to deliver on its “FanProtect Guarantee” after providing replacement tickets of significantly lower value for tickets to Taylor Swift’s Eras Tour. However, the court instead determined that the plaintiff’s dispute must be resolved through arbitration as stipulated by StubHub.
Judge Whitehead found that StubHub used a version of “sign-in wrap” agreement on its website, whereby users are informed that, by engaging with the platform through creating an account, signing in, and clicking Buy Now/purchasing, they agree to the platform’s terms. The order states that these notices were displayed lawfully near sign-in and purchase buttons in a clearly visible hyperlink contrasting the surrounding text.
“Thus, the Court finds visual elements of the sign in page sufficient to provide conspicuous notice that ‘a reasonably prudent Internet user would have seen,’” the order states.
The court also determined that the plaintiff assented to the terms by clicking the “sign in” and “buy now” buttons after explicit notice that, by doing so, she would be agreeing to StubHub’s terms and conditions.
Although the plaintiff argued that she created her StubHub account in 2018 and may not have been presented with the same terms at the time, Judge Whitehead determined this issue was irrelevant. Even assuming that the plaintiff’s account creation in 2018 did not bind her to StubHub’s terms , Judge Whitehead concluded that she nevertheless agreed to the current user agreement when she signed in and purchased tickets in 2024.
Judge Whitehead challenged the plaintiff’s argument that the arbitration agreement is void due to its apparently illegal barring of public injunctive relief based on a severability clause found in a 2018 version of the user agreement. However, because the plaintiff agreed to the current version, the language present in the current version is the only one that can be used in court. The judge also found no basis to invalidate the arbitration clause as unconscionable or otherwise.
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A proposed class action lawsuit alleges that StubHub Holdings Inc. has misleadingly touted its “FanProtect Guarantee,” given that the ticket seller “routinely” provides inferior tickets while refusing to offer refunds, even when better or comparable tickets are available on the platform.
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The 30-page StubHub lawsuit claims that the secondary ticketing platform has failed to honor the terms of its “FanProtect Guarantee,” StubHub’s assurance that it will find comparable tickets to those originally ordered should they become unavailable at the time of the event, or offer a full refund. This guarantee is reiterated to consumers during checkout, where the defendant imposes “fees specifically tied to the security promised by the FanProtect Guarantee, marking it as peace of mind and protection for consumers,” the complaint states.
In practice, the case summarizes, StubHub has “constructed a business process that allows it to super-size its profit when sellers are unable to provide the tickets that buyers have purchased.”
The plaintiff is a Washington resident who, in August 2024, purchased three tickets for approximately $14,000 to the Taylor Swift Eras Tour set to take place on December 6, 2024 in Vancouver, British Columbia.
On the day of the concert, the lawsuit shares, StubHub informed the plaintiff that her tickets were unavailable but, pursuant to the FanProtect Guarantee, presented her with two options: three tickets in a much worse section worth around $3,600 total, or three tickets in a listening-only section that had no view of the stage. She was given no option for a full refund, the filing says.
At that point, the plaintiff discovered on her own that there were other seats still available for sale on StubHub that were in a similar section to her original ones, the complaint relays. The consumer requested these tickets while talking to a customer service representative, but StubHub refused, the suit claims.
Because this was the last show of the tour and the plaintiff was already on her way to the venue, she felt like she had “no meaningful choice” but to take the tickets in the inferior section, the complaint shares. Furthermore, the plaintiff did not receive a refund for the approximately $10,400 she was owed, and StubHub instead “pocketed the difference,” the suit alleges.
StubHub’s conduct contradicts its promises to fulfill “comparable tickets or a full refund” as they display numerous times across their website, the complaint contends. The class action lawsuit was filed amid thousands of other complaints that, according to the Better Business Bureau, accuse StubHub of “fail[ing] to resolve underlying cause(s) of a pattern of complaints.”
As recently as 2024, StubHub faced similar class action lawsuits over the alleged understatement of "junk fees" on the site and for apparently knowingly facilitating the sale of fraudulent tickets. Across the suits, the sentiment is similar: had the plaintiffs known about StubHub’s actions, they would not have elected to use its services to buy tickets.
The StubHub class action lawsuit looks to cover anyone who has purchased one or more tickets to an event through StubHub in the United States within the applicable statute of limitations period.
Did you know that some class action settlements require no proof to submit a claim? Check out the latest top class action settlements.
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