ULTRA HIT WITH CLASS ACTION LAWSUIT OVER REFUND POLICY

Ultra just can’t win as of late. From Virginia Key to the hoity-toity residents of Bayside to ticket curmudgeons, the music festival always seems to be a point of controversy. Although the residents of Bayside lost their most recent lawsuit, claiming Ultra was veryyyyyyy loud, fate shined upon them with the announcement of postponement, when whole event was scrapped in totality.

Ultra was “postponed” for a full year (code for canceled) and ticket holders seethed, claiming Ultra unjustly denied refunds in the wake of its Coronavirus fiasco. The two provocateurs behind the litigation, Samuel Hernandez, who purchased multiple tickets therefore investing thousands of dollars, and Richard Montoure, claimed their legal recourse was equitable. Their story was eventually picked up by Rolling Stone, where both Samuel, Richard, and their legal team gave commentary.

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Ultra didn’t deny refunds, not exactly at least. In an attempt to mitigate their colossal, horrendous, multi-million dollar, nauseating, insidiously paralyzing, and morbid losses they basically asked the residents of Miami for a loan. “ALL tickets purchased will of course remain valid and will be honored at either the 2021 or 2022 Ultra Miami event, at your option. You will have 30 days to choose which Ultra Miami event you want to attend.” It’s not exactly a refund, but it is a fair-valued trade considering assumed inflation of ticket price, added perks like merchandise, e.t.c. And as stated before in our previous article regarding Ultra’s postponement, legally the music festival has the upper-hand.

Ultra’s team didn’t use the word “cancelation,” rather they chose the euphemism “postponement.” With this clever distinction, Ultra not only bought itself time to recuperate losses but it also utilized its built-in contractual backup plan. This is a classic example of check the fine print before you sign something or click “Agree to Terms” because every ticket holder’s purchase agreement consented to this “postponement” clause quirk. Samuel Hernandez and Richard Montoure can kick and scream all they want, but also long as Ultra can justify semantics and syntactical liberties in the court of law, refunds are not on the horizon.

But to put it into perspective, one party loses a couple hundred, maybe a couple thousand, and those losses are isolated. Another party, a conglomerate group of investors, partners, contractors, and staff, experiences millions of dollars with of aggregate losses, not to mention a massive headache and asphyxiating expectations of performance and media pressure.

There is no recourse for Ultra, no bottomless pit of money. No lawsuit will invert their current balance sheet. The market of music festivals walks on thin ice. Samuel Hernandez and Richard Montoure would do best to utilize their tickets next year, to reallocate the money they’re going to blow on legal fees and spend it on Ultra’s 2021 VIP instead, maybe pop a bottle, get a little loose, and take a chill pill to celebrate the end of Corona and the beginning of festival season.