| Competition Tribunal
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Tribunal de la Concurrence
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Reference: The Commissioner of Competition v Live Nation Entertainment, Inc et al, 2018 Comp Trib 8
File No: CT-2018-005
Registry Document No: 16
IN THE MATTER OF an application by the Commissioner of Competition for orders pursuant to section 74.1 of the Competition Act, RSC 1985, c C-34 regarding conduct reviewable pursuant to paragraph 74.01(1)(a) and section 74.05 of the Act;
AND IN THE MATTER OF a case management conference held on April 9, 2018 to discuss the proposed schedule for the disposition of this application.
| BETWEEN:
The Commissioner of Competition
(applicant)
and
Live Nation Entertainment, Inc, Live Nation Worldwide, Inc, Ticketmaster Canada Holdings ULC, Ticketmaster Canada LP, Ticketmaster L.L.C., The V.I.P. Tour Company, Ticketsnow.com, Inc, and Tnow Entertainment Group, Inc
(respondents)
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Date of case management conference: April 9, 2018
Before Judicial Member: D. Gascon J. (Chairperson)
Date of Order: April 17, 2018
SCHEDULING ORDER
[1]
FURTHER TO the application filed by the applicant, the Commissioner of Competition (“Commissioner”), against the respondents, Live Nation Entertainment, Inc et al (“Respondents”), for orders pursuant to section 74.1 of the Competition Act, RSC, c C-34, as amended (“Act”) regarding conduct allegedly reviewable under paragraph 74.01(1)(a) and section 74.05 of the Act (“Application”);
[2]
AND FURTHER TO the jointly proposed timetable submitted by the parties on March 27, 2018 and to the discussions with counsel for both parties at a case management conference held on April 9, 2018 (“CMC”);
[3]
WHEREAS the parties’ jointly proposed timetable provides for a total period of over 20 months for the disposition of this Application, from the filing of the Notice of Application to the hearing on the merits, which is proposed to start in October 2019;
[4]
AND WHEREAS the Tribunal has indicated to the parties and their counsel that it would be available and ready to hear this matter earlier, in the first half of 2019;
[5]
AND WHEREAS the Tribunal aims at issuing scheduling orders that contemplate completing the various discovery and pre-hearing disclosure steps of its proceedings within benchmarks that the Tribunal considers to be reasonable timelines;
[6]
AND WHEREAS the Tribunal nonetheless remains mindful of the fact that the actual timetable of each matter may vary depending on the particular context and circumstances of each case;
[7]
AND WHEREAS further to the submissions made by counsel for the parties at the CMC, the Tribunal was informed that this Application is not a typical deceptive marketing practices case, that the alleged conduct covers a long period of time, that the number of relevant documents to be produced is expected to be large and to involve numerous custodians, and that expert evidence will be required;
[8]
AND WHEREAS the Tribunal further notes that, in this case, the longer proposed timeframe for the service of Affidavits of Documents and the delivery of documents will allow for a single production of documents by all parties on the proposed date for this step;
[9]
AND WHEREAS counsel for the parties have indicated to the Tribunal that the jointly proposed timetable is realistic and achievable, and will considerably limit the risk of any adjournment of the hearing on the merits scheduled to start in October 2019;
[10]
AND WHEREAS counsel for the parties have mentioned to the Tribunal that, in their view, reducing the proposed timetable by four months or more in order for the hearing on the merits to take place in the Spring of 2019 would not be reasonably possible or feasible;
[11]
AND WHEREAS neither the Commissioner nor the Respondents have proposed a timetable that would contemplate a hearing on the merits in the first half of 2019, despite the fact that the Tribunal has informed the parties that it would have been available and ready to deal with this matter more expeditiously;
[12]
AND WHEREAS in light of the foregoing and in the particular circumstances of this case, the Tribunal is satisfied that the following scheduling order is appropriate and respects the principles found in subsection 9(2) of the Competition Tribunal Act, RSC 1985, c 19 (2nd supp) and, in particular, the considerations of procedural fairness;
THE TRIBUNAL ORDERS THAT:
[13]
The schedule for the discovery and pre-hearing disclosure steps of the Application shall be as follows:
| April 20, 2018
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Filing of any preliminary motion brought by the Respondents, including in respect of venue
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| May 4, 2018
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Deadline to file any response to preliminary motions
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| May 10, 2018
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Hearing of any preliminary motion brought by the Respondents, including in respect of venue
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| July 20, 2018
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Service of Affidavits of Documents and delivery of documents by all parties
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| September 14, 2018
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Last day to file motions arising from Affidavits of Documents and/or productions, including motions challenging claims of privilege
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| October 1, 2018
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Deadline to file any responses to motions arising from Affidavits of Documents and/or productions, including motions challenging claims of privilege
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| October 11, 2018
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Hearing of any motions arising from Affidavits of Documents, productions and/or claims of privilege
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| November 2, 2018
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Deadline for delivery of any additional productions resulting from Affidavits of Documents, productions and/or claims or privilege motions
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| November 30, 2018
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Deadline for completion of examinations for discovery, in accordance with a schedule to be settled between counsel
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| January 14, 2019
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Deadline for fulfilling answers to discovery undertakings
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| February 11, 2019
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Last day to file motions arising from answers to undertakings and refusals
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| February 18, 2019
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Deadline to file any responses to motions arising from answers to undertakings and refusals
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| February 21, 2019
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Hearing of any motions arising from answers to undertakings or refusals
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| March 22, 2019
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Last day for follow-up examinations for discovery
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| April 10, 2019
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Deadline to provide and deliver mediation briefs
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| April 17 – 18, 2019
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Mediation
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| April 25, 2019
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Case management conference on pre-hearing disclosure steps and preliminary issues
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| June 5, 2019
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Applicant to serve and file documents relied upon, witness statements and expert reports, if any
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Applicant to serve list of documents proposed to be admitted without further proof
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Applicant to indicate documents on which privilege is waived
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| June 12, 2019
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Last day to file motions for further examination for discovery following waivers of privilege
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| June 19, 2019
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Deadline to file any responses to motions for further examination for discovery following waivers of privilege
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| June 27, 2019
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Hearing of any motions for further examination for discovery following waivers of privilege
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| August 9, 2019
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Respondent to serve and file documents relied upon, witness statements and expert reports, if any
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Deadline for delivering any requests for admissions
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| August 27, 2019
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Applicant to serve and file list of reply documents, witness statements and expert reports, if any
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Last day to file motions for summary disposition and/or any motions related to the evidence (documents relied upon, witness statements and expert reports)
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| September 6, 2019
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Deadline to file any responses to motions for summary disposition and/or motions related to the evidence (documents relied upon, witness statements and expert reports)
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| September 10, 2019
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Pre-trial case management conference
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| September 12, 2019
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Hearing of any motions for summary disposition and/or any motions related to the evidence (documents relied upon, witness statements and expert reports)
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| September 20, 2019
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Deadline to provide documents to the Tribunal for use at the hearing (e.g., briefs of authorities, witness statements, expert reports)
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Deadline for responding to any requests for admissions
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| September 27, 2019
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Deadline for delivering any agreed statement of facts.
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[14]
The hearing of the Application shall commence at 9:30 a.m. on Tuesday, October 8, 2019, at the place to be determined by the Tribunal in a subsequent order, and the schedule for the hearing shall be as follows:
| October 8 – 11, 2019
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First week of hearing (4 days)
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| October 15 – 18, 2019
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Second week of hearing (4 days)
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| October 22 – 25, 2019
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Third week of hearing (4 days)
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| October 30 – 31, 2019
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Oral arguments (2 days)
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| DATED at Ottawa, this 17 day of April 2018.
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| SIGNED on behalf of the Tribunal by the Chairperson.
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| (s) Denis Gascon
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COUNSEL OF RECORD:
For the applicant:
| The Commissioner of Competition
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| François Joyal
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| Derek Leschinsky
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| Kenneth Jull
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| Ryan Caron
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For the respondents:
| Live Nation Entertainment, Inc et al
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| Mark Opashinov
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| David W. Kent
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| Guy Pinsonnault
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| Adam D.H. Chisholm
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| Joshua Chad
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