A man has sued the Pantages Theatre, alleging he was induced into spending nearly $600 for a ticket package that he thought would give him priority in obtaining tickets to the upcoming performances of "Hamilton" only to find out later that the promise was false.
Sanjay Bansal's Los Angeles Superior Court lawsuit, filed Friday, is a proposed class-action complaint alleging fraud, negligent misrepresenttion, breach of contract and unjust enrichment.
He seeks unspecified damages as well as a court order that he and others who bought the "flex package" be allowed to buy "Hamilton" tickets ahead of those who did not buy it.
The alleged misleading representations by the Pantages management "only serves the profit-maximizing interest of the defendants," the suit states.
A Pantages representative did not return a call for comment.
"Hamilton," the winner of 11 Tony Awards, is one of the most successful musicals in Broadway history and about 350,000 people have attended the shows in New York City, the suit states.
"Tickets for 'Hamilton' were one of the most sought-after events and the secondary market for such tickets netted sellers very large markups," the suit states.
News
Top news of the day
In announcing the play would be staged at the Pantages, management used an aggressive campaign and said only people with season packages could be guaranteed seats to the shows, the suit states.
One of the alternative options offered was the "flex package," the suit states, and Bansal called last July asking if buying it would give him priority in purchasing tickets to "Hamilton," according to the lawsuit.
"During this phone call, plaintiff was clearly told by defendants that if he purchased a flex package, he would be entitled to priority access to purchase tickets at a date prior to the sale to the general public," the suit states.
Bansal was told full-season ticket holders would have the chance to buy additional tickets to "Hamilton" and that flex package holders would be next in line to obtain them, the suit states.
Season packages require the purchase of tickets to all 14 shows scheduled for this season at an estimated price in excess of $1,000. The flex package includes tickets to six selected shows at prices ranging from $302.50 to $588.
After buying the flex package for $583, Bansal called the theater multiple times to find out when he could buy tickets to the musical, the suit states.
In March, Bansal received an email from the Pantages stating that the general public sales for the shows would begin April 30, the suit states.
On March 14, the theater tweeted that priority access to "Hamilton" was only offered to full-season package holders, the suit states.
"Defendants have now adopted the position that flex package holders would only be the first to know about any pre-sale or on-sale dates for 'Hamilton' and not actually entitled to participate in any pre-sale purchases," a position that is "contrary to what was represented and advertised before," the suit states.
"Hamilton" is slated to play at the Pantages from Aug. 11 to Dec. 30.
