LOS ANGELES (CNS) - A federal judge in Los Angeles rejected AEG's motion to dismiss an antitrust lawsuit brought by Ozzy Osbourne challenging the concert promoter's policy of allowing the O2 Arena in London to be booked by an artist only if the performer agrees to play at least one date at Staples Center, according to court papers obtained today.
U.S. District Judge Dale S. Fischer's four-page order denying the Anschutz Entertainment Group's attempt to have the case tossed was issued Wednesday after the judge found the arena operator's arguments “unpersuasive.”
In the lawsuit, filed in March in federal court, Osbourne's lawyers claim the singer tried to book London's O2 for early next year, only to be told that it was available with the condition he also contract with Staples Center. Both venues are owned by AEG.
In her order, Fischer wrote that AEG is “using market power in one market to foreclose competition in another through a tying arrangement. That tie allegedly harms Ozzy by constricting his choices on where to play his concerts regardless of whether Ozzy's or his concert promoter's name is on the contract with the venue.”
With the case moving towards trial, Fischer set a date in November for a scheduling conference.
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