SECTIONS 22500-22511 - California Statutes

BUSINESS AND PROFESSIONS CODE

SECTION 22500-22511

22500. (a) A ticket seller shall have a permanent business address
from which tickets may only be sold and that address shall be
included in any advertisement or solicitation, and shall be duly
licensed as may be required by any local jurisdiction.
(b) A violation of this section shall constitute a misdemeanor
punishable by imprisonment in a county jail not exceeding six months,
or by fine not exceeding two thousand five hundred dollars ($2,500),
or by both.
(c) Any person who engages, has engaged, or proposes to engage in
a violation of this section shall be liable for a civil penalty not
to exceed two thousand five hundred dollars ($2,500) for each
violation, which may be assessed and recovered in a civil action
brought in the name of the people of the State of California by the
Attorney General, or a district attorney, or a city attorney of a
city having a population in excess of 750,000, and, with the consent
of the district attorney, by a city prosecutor in any city, county,
or city and county having a full-time prosecutor in any court of
competent jurisdiction. Payment of the civil penalty shall be made
pursuant to the provisions of subdivision (b) of Section 17206. For
the purposes of this section, each ticket sold or offered for sale in
violation of this section shall constitute a separate violation. The
remedies provided by this section are cumulative to each other and
to the remedies or penalties available under all other laws of this
state.

22501. A ticket seller shall maintain records of ticket sales,
deposits, and refunds.

22502. A ticket seller shall, prior to sale, disclose to the
purchaser by means of description or a map the location of the seat
or seats represented by the ticket or tickets.

22502.1. It shall be unlawful for a ticket seller to contract for
the sale of tickets or accept consideration for payment in full or
for a deposit for the sale of tickets unless the ticket seller meets
one or more of the following requirements:
(a) The ticket seller has the ticket in his or her possession.
(b) The ticket seller has a written contract to obtain the offered
ticket at a certain price from a person in possession of the ticket
or from a person who has a contractual right to obtain the ticket
from the primary contractor.
(c) The ticket seller informs the purchaser orally at the time of
the contract or receipt of consideration, whichever is earlier, and
in writing within two business days, that the seller does not have
possession of the tickets, has no contract to obtain the offered
ticket at a certain price from a person in possession of the ticket
or from a person who has a contractual right to obtain the ticket
from the primary contractor, and may not be able to supply the ticket
at the contracted price or range of prices.
Nothing in this section shall prohibit a ticket seller from
accepting a deposit from a prospective purchaser as part of an
agreement that the ticket seller will make best efforts to obtain a
ticket at a specified price or price range and within a specified
time, provided that the ticket seller informs the purchaser orally at
the time of the contract or receipt of consideration, whichever is
earlier, and in writing within two days, of the terms of the deposit
agreement, and includes in the oral and written notice the
disclosures otherwise required by this section.

22502.2. It shall be unlawful for a ticket seller to represent that
he or she can deliver or cause to be delivered a ticket at a
specific price or within a specific price range and to fail to
deliver within a reasonable time or by a contracted time the tickets
at or below the price stated or within the range of prices stated.

22502.3. In addition to other remedies, a ticket seller who
violates Section 22502.1 or 22502.2 and fails to supply a ticket at
or below a contracted price or within a contracted price range shall
be civilly liable to the ticket purchaser for two times the
contracted price of the ticket, in addition to any sum expended by
the purchaser in nonrefundable expenses for attending or attempting
to attend the event in good faith reliance on seat or space
availability, and reasonable attorney's fees and court costs.

22503. A ticket seller, as used in this chapter, means any person
who for compensation, commission, or otherwise sells admission
tickets to sporting, musical, theatre, or any other entertainment
event.

22503.5. This chapter does not apply to any primary contractor or
seller of tickets for the primary contractor operating under a
written contract with the primary contractor.
"Primary contractor" means the person or organization who is
responsible for the event for which tickets are being sold.

22503.6. This chapter does not apply to an officially appointed
agent of an air carrier, ocean carrier or motor coach carrier who
purchases or sells tickets in conjunction with a tour package
accomplished through the primary event promoter or his or her agent
by written agreement.

22504. This chapter does not apply to any person who sells six
tickets or less to any one single event, provided the tickets are
sold off the premises where the event is to take place, including,
but not limited to, designated parking areas and points of entry to
the event.

22505. A violation of any provision of this chapter shall
constitute a misdemeanor.

22506. Any partial or full deposit received by a ticket seller on a
future event for which tickets are not available shall be refundable
except for a service charge of not more than 10 percent until
tickets for the event are actually available.

22507. The ticket price of any event which is canceled, postponed,
or rescheduled shall be fully refunded to the purchaser by the ticket
seller upon request. Any local jurisdiction may require a ticket
seller to provide a bond of not more than fifty thousand dollars
($50,000) to provide for any refunds that may be required by this
section.

22508. A ticket seller shall disclose that a service charge is
imposed by the ticket seller and is added to the actual ticket price
by the seller in any advertisement or promotion for any event by the
ticket seller.

22509. Any ticket seller who includes tickets to an event in
conjunction with the sale of a tour or event package, including,
among other things, transportation, meals, lodging, or beverages,
shall disclose in any advertisements or promotional materials the
price charged or allotted for the tickets.

22510. Nothing in this chapter prohibits any local agency from
imposing any local fees or taxes.

22511. This chapter does not apply to any nonprofit charitable
tax-exempt organization selling tickets to an event sponsored by the
organization.