Maryland residents who bought tickets on Vivid Seats' website or app before May 12, 2025 — and paid a service or delivery fee that wasn't in the advertised price — could fall within the proposed class.
Allegations Only · No Settlement Yet
This article describes a class action complaint. The statements below are unproven allegations. Vivid Seats has not been found liable, there is no certified class, and nothing to claim at this time. This page is informational and is not legal advice.
What Is This About?
A proposed class action accuses Vivid Seats of "drip pricing" — advertising tickets at a low base price, then revealing mandatory service and delivery fees only at the final step of a multi-page checkout, after the buyer has entered personal and payment information under a ticking countdown clock. The complaint, Cheezum v. Vivid Seats, Inc., was filed on September 10, 2025 in the Circuit Court for Caroline County, Maryland (Case No. C-05-CV-25-000127) by a Maryland resident on behalf of a proposed class of Maryland ticket buyers. Vivid Seats later removed the case to the U.S. District Court for the District of Maryland, where it is docketed as Case No. 1:25-cv-03432-MJM.According to the complaint, the fees added at the end of a Vivid Seats purchase — service fees plus electronic transfer or mobile delivery fees — typically increased the cost of a ticket by 25% to 50%, and in some instances by more than 100% of the ticket's face value. The complaint alleges Vivid Seats continued the practice for Maryland buyers even after a Maryland law explicitly banning drip pricing in ticket sales took effect on July 1, 2024, and stopped only on May 12, 2025, when the Federal Trade Commission's nationwide rule on unfair or deceptive fees became effective. The allegations are unproven.
Maryland Banned Drip Pricing in 2024
What makes this case different from most hidden-fee lawsuits is that Maryland wrote the ban directly into its consumer protection statute. Effective July 1, 2024, the Maryland Consumer Protection Act, § 13-310.1, requires ticket listings — and each step of a ticket transaction — to disclose the total price including all fees and taxes, to itemize every charge that makes up that total, and not to increase the price in any later step of the transaction (other than reasonable shipping for physical tickets). The law applies to secondary ticket exchanges and resellers selling to Maryland residents regardless of where the event takes place.The complaint alleges Vivid Seats kept using drip pricing on sales to Maryland consumers anyway, even though — according to the plaintiff — the company already displayed all-in pricing for events in certain other states, showing it had the systems to comply. The complaint brings one count under the MCPA's general ban on deceptive trade practices for the full class period, and a second count under § 13-310.1 for purchases made after the ban took effect.
How the Complaint Says the Checkout Flow Worked
The complaint walks through the Vivid Seats purchase flow in detail. In the plaintiff's telling, a buyer selects tickets at an advertised per-ticket price with no mention of mandatory fees, then must click through multiple screens — entering an email address, name, address, phone number, and payment details — while a ten-minute countdown clock urges them to "Act fast!" Only on the final screen, the complaint alleges, does Vivid Seats reveal a "Service Total" that can add upwards of 40% to the advertised price.The complaint also alleges that on the mobile app, the true total was effectively hidden behind the "Place Order" button — so a buyer could complete a purchase without the full price ever being displayed. As for the fees themselves, the complaint says Vivid Seats never explains during checkout how its service fee is calculated, and it challenges the per-ticket electronic transfer fee on the ground that the ticket transfer is actually carried out by the original seller through the primary ticketing platform, not by Vivid Seats.
The Named Plaintiff's Purchase
The named plaintiff, a Maryland resident, alleges she bought two tickets in February 2025 for a live event in Pennsylvania. The tickets were advertised at $225 each — $450 total. By the final checkout screen, she says, Vivid Seats had added a $90.62 service fee per ticket plus a $2.50 electronic transfer fee per ticket, bringing the order to $616.24 after a discount code — an increase of roughly 37% over the advertised price. She alleges the low advertised price was a substantial factor in her decision to buy, and that she completed the purchase under the pressure of the checkout flow despite the previously undisclosed fees.Who Is Covered by the Proposed Class?
The complaint seeks to certify a class defined, in substance, as:All residents of Maryland who paid a mandatory added fee through the Vivid Seats website or app — where the price initially displayed did not include the amount of the fees — during roughly the three years before the September 10, 2025 filing, through May 11, 2025. A proposed subclass covers the same purchases made on or after July 1, 2024, when Maryland's drip-pricing ban took effect. Excluded are Vivid Seats executives and their immediate families, counsel for both sides, and people whose claims have already been resolved or released.
The complaint estimates the class includes at least 100 people. No class has been certified yet, so the definitions and eligibility could change as the case proceeds — or the case could be dismissed.
What the Lawsuit Seeks
The complaint brings two counts under the Maryland Consumer Protection Act and asks the court to:• Certify the class and subclass and appoint the named plaintiff as class representative.
• Award damages for the undisclosed portion of the fees class members paid.
• Award reasonable attorneys' fees, costs, and pre- and post-judgment interest.
All of these are requests for relief tied to unproven allegations; Vivid Seats has not been found to have done anything unlawful, and no money has been awarded.
Part of a Bigger Junk-Fee Crackdown
This lawsuit lands in the middle of a broad legal push against hidden fees in live-event ticketing. The FTC's Rule on Unfair or Deceptive Fees, effective May 12, 2025, made all-in ticket pricing a nationwide requirement — and according to the complaint, that is the day Vivid Seats switched to displaying its fees up front. Rival StubHub is already paying automatic refunds under an FTC order over the same practice, covered on our StubHub FTC hidden-fees refund settlement page, and previously paid $20 million to resolve a California class action over fee display, covered on our StubHub ticket fees settlement page. Similar drip-pricing claims are pending against DoorDash over DashPass checkout fees. And StubHub faces a separate class action over canceled World Cup 2026 tickets — a reminder that ticket resale platforms are drawing scrutiny on more than one front.Is There a Settlement or Claim Form?
No. This is a lawsuit, not a settlement.• There is no settlement fund.
• There is no claim form.
• There is no payout and no deadline to act.
For any money to be distributed through this case, it would first have to survive Vivid Seats' expected motions, then win class certification, and then either settle or prevail at trial — a process that can take years and may not succeed. Maryland buyers who paid Vivid Seats fees before May 12, 2025 can keep their order confirmations and follow this case for updates.
Read the Complaint
Frequently Asked Questions
Is there a Vivid Seats hidden-fees settlement or claim form?
No. This is a class action complaint, not a settlement. There is no settlement fund, no claim form, and no payout. Vivid Seats has not been found liable, no class has been certified, and there is nothing to claim at this time.
What does the Vivid Seats class action allege?
The complaint alleges Vivid Seats used drip pricing — advertising a low ticket price, then revealing mandatory service fees and electronic transfer or mobile delivery fees only at the final checkout step, under a countdown clock. It claims this violated the Maryland Consumer Protection Act, including a Maryland law that has explicitly banned drip pricing in ticket sales since July 1, 2024. These are unproven allegations.
Who could be covered by the proposed class?
The complaint proposes a class of Maryland residents who paid a mandatory added fee through the Vivid Seats website or app — where the price first displayed did not include the fee — during roughly the three years before the September 10, 2025 filing, through May 11, 2025. A subclass covers purchases on or after July 1, 2024, when Maryland's drip-pricing ban took effect. No class has been certified, so the definitions could change.
Does Vivid Seats still hide fees until checkout?
According to the complaint, Vivid Seats updated its website and app on May 12, 2025 — the effective date of the FTC's Rule on Unfair or Deceptive Fees — to display all mandatory fees up front as part of the advertised price. The lawsuit concerns purchases made before that change.
What should Vivid Seats ticket buyers do now?
There is nothing to claim right now because there is no settlement. Maryland buyers who paid Vivid Seats fees before May 12, 2025 can keep their order confirmations and follow this case for updates. If a class is certified and a settlement or judgment results, a formal process with its own eligibility rules and deadlines would be announced. This page is informational and is not legal advice.
Sources
• Class Action Complaint, Cheezum v. Vivid Seats, Inc., No. 1:25-cv-03432 (D. Md., removed; originally No. C-05-CV-25-000127, Cir. Ct. Caroline Cty., Md., filed Sept. 10, 2025), via CourtListener.• Maryland Consumer Protection Act, § 13-310.1 (ticket sale disclosure requirements, effective July 1, 2024).
• FTC Trade Regulation Rule on Unfair or Deceptive Fees, 16 C.F.R. Part 464 (effective May 12, 2025).
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