Madonna 's legal team has filed a motion to dismiss a lawsuit filed against her earlier this year over an alleged delayed concert start time amid her ongoing Celebration Tour . In new court docs filed on April 3 in the U.S. District Court of Eastern
New York, lawyers for Madonna, Live Nation and Barclays Center -- all named as defendants in the suit -- allege that the complaint should be thrown out. "Plaintiffs speculate that ticketholders who left the venue after 1 a.m. might have had trouble getting a ride home or might have needed to wake up early the next day for work," Madonna's attorneys wrote. "That is not a cognizable injury." The lawyers claim to "get up early to go to work" is not a legal "injury" one can sue over. Additionally, the lawyers claim that it is not "reasonable" for concertgoers to predict anticipated show start and end times regardless of what is printed on the event tickets. "Reasonable concert goers also know that concert lengths vary based on numerous factors," the doc states. Two concertgoers -- Michael Fellows and Jonathan Hadden -- filed a lawsuit after they claimed
Madonna started her Dec. 13 concert at Barclays Center two hours late. The plaintiffs, who filed the lawsuit in January in the U.S. District Court of Eastern New York, went on to claim Madonna also started her Dec. 14 and Dec. 16 concerts more than two hours late, and that they were given no warning as to the concert's late start time. Madonna and Live Nation did not address those shows. The plaintiffs' claim the show was advertised to begin at 8:30 p.m. but Madonna did not hit the stage until "between 10:45 p.m. and 11 p.m." As a result, the concertgoers claim, the show did not end until after 1 a.m., causing them to encounter issues with "limited public transportation, limited ride-sharing, and/or increased public and private transportation costs." That the concert ran so late on a weeknight also made it difficult for the plaintiffs "to get up early to go to work and/or take care of their family responsibilities the next day" on fewer hours of sleep, they claimed. The plaintiffs in court documents accused The Material Girl, 65 -- as well as Live Nation and Barclays Center -- of engaging in "unconscionable, unfair, and/or deceptive trade practices." Fellows and Hadden are seeking "damages, statutory damages, treble damages, exemplary damages, costs and attorneys' fees," as well as a trial by jury. In the newly filed docs, Madonna's lawyers point to a
Social Media post from Hadden in which he praised her performance. "Caught her North
American tour opener last night! An homage to NYC! Incredible, as always! I've never missed a Madonna Tour," the
Facebook post dated Dec. 14, 2023, reads. "In other words," her lawyers wrote in the document, "the concert met or exceeded his expectations." ET has reached out to representatives for Madonna, Live Nation and Barclay's Center for additional comment. "Madonna's just completed, sold out 2023 Celebration Tour in Europe received rave reviews," Madonna Management and Live Nation previously told ET back in January. "The shows opened in North America at Barclays in Brooklyn as planned, with the exception of a technical issue December 13th during soundcheck. This caused a delay that was well documented in press reports at the time. We intend to defend this case vigorously." RELATED CONTENT: Video News News News News News
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