Live Nation is actively challenging the Department of Justice's antitrust lawsuit, seeking to relocate the case to Washington DC while simultaneously pursuing dismissal of several allegations.

The entertainment giant, represented by Latham & Watkins and Cravath Swaine & Moore, argues the case belongs in the US District Court for the District of Columbia, citing it as the designated forum for matters related to the 2010 consent decree that permitted the Live Nation-Ticketmaster merger.

Key developments in the case:

• Live Nation contends the DOJ's monopolistic practice allegations are directly linked to the effectiveness of the original merger decree
• Judge Arun Subramanian has set a firm trial date for March 2, 2026
• A two-tiered access system has been proposed for case-related documents
• Corporate officers Dan Wall and Kimberly Tobias face potential restrictions on accessing competitor information

The company argues that the DOJ's lawsuit represents an attempt to circumvent the original merger agreement, stating in their filing: "DOJ and 16 of the state Plaintiffs here contractually agreed that Live Nation and Ticketmaster could merge on prescribed terms and that they would not seek to 'modify' the decree except in the DC Court."

The case continues to evolve, with both parties working to establish the specifics of document access and venue determination. Live Nation maintains that the merger and subsequent consent decree have not harmed competition, while the DOJ pursues its antitrust claims.

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