COVID-19: Lightning in a Bottle Festival Organizers Hit with Class Actions Seeking Ticket Refunds

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The company behind the annual Lightning in a Bottle music festival in California’s Central Valley has been hit with dual proposed class action lawsuits seeking ticket refunds in the wake of the gathering’s cancellation due to the COVID-19 pandemic.

The complaints allege that defendant Do Lab, Inc. has refused to issue refunds for more than 27,000 tickets sold for the electronic dance music (EDM) festival that was to take place from May 20 to 25, 2020. One suit charges that despite positioning itself in a March 13 email to ticketholders as “a small family business” without “deep pockets or outside investors,” Do Labs is no “mom and pop” operation, as it sold “at least $8 million” in tickets for which no refunds will be issued.

“Accordingly, Defendant has unjustly enriched itself by retaining the ticket fees of thousands of consumers while simultaneously cancelling its Festival in its entirety,” the lawsuit alleges. 

Four-day general admission passes to Lightning in a Bottle started at $319 plus fees, and five-day passes cost $389 plus fees, the case says. Do Labs also offered its “most devout attendees” a “Patron Experience” costing $999, as well as RV camping passes ranging from $355 to $1,200 and “boutique camping packages” in the neighborhood of $1,500 to $3,300, according to the suit.

One case stresses that Do Labs’ refund policy outlines “unconscionable and illusory” terms and conditions barring refunds for any reason and circumstance, even if the festival is canceled. The lawsuit alleges that Do Labs’ refund policy is unenforceable under California law in that the company has “the unfettered or arbitrary right to modify or terminate the agreement or assumes no obligations thereunder.”

Both lawsuits can be found below. 

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