Ozzy Osbourne abandons court action against AEG – Rolling Stone

Ozzy Osbourne abandoned its antitrust lawsuit against Anschutz Entertainment Group (AEG) concert promoter after the company agreed to end their practice of "block booking" their sites.

In the lawsuit filed in March 2018, Osbourne accused AEG of forcing him to make his farewell tour to Staples Center, owned by AEG, owned by his rival Madison Square Garden Entertainment. a concert at the O2 Arena in London, also owned by AEG.

In August, a judge dismissed AEG's request to dismiss the lawsuit. However, Osbourne lawyer Dan Wall on Friday filed a motion to dismiss the case, which meant Osbourne could not file his case later.

according to Variety, Osbourne agreed to drop the lawsuit after AEG said they would end their policy of having artists schedule both the Staples Center and the O2 Arena. "Sharon [Osbourne] and Ozzy are happy, there is nothing left to plead, "said Wall. Variety.

In an AEG statement after the dismissal, the company accused Live Nation, Madison Square Garden Entertainment and Irving Azoff of initiating the Osbourne antitrust lawsuit and warned that AEG would "redeploy" its reservation policy to force artists into the forum . "

"On Friday, Ozzy Osbourne rejected the class action he brought against AEG. This dismissal with prejudice is a victory for AEG. We were quite ready to see the case to defend our policy, but now that Osbourne has decided to dismiss with prejudice, the case is over, "said AEG.

"The Osbourne costume was initiated by Azoff and paid for by MSG and Live Nation. It was hatched on the back of an artist who, in our opinion, had no idea what he was biting. The lawsuit was a transparent public relations ploy that failed to pressure AEG to abandon a booking policy that is an effective competitive response at the MSG-Forum meeting.

AEG continued: "It is not surprising that once AEG refused to back down, Azoff, MSG and Live Nation were eager to file the case as soon as possible. They dismissed the case after realizing that AEG would aggressively defend it, cost them tens of millions of dollars, and be a source of embarrassment once their dubious tactics were revealed during the discovery and trial. .

The only Osbourne concert in the Los Angeles area at press time is October 11 at the Hollywood Bowl.