Ticket resellers sue to kill D.C.'s scalping cap before it even starts
SeatGeek, Vivid Seats, Gametime and TickPick filed a 40-page federal complaint Wednesday arguing the RESALE Act is unconstitutional. Ward 6 Councilmember Charles Allen, who wrote the law, says the show is over for companies that have gouged D.C. fans for years.
In brief
Why this matters right now
If you have ever refreshed a ticket page at 10 a.m., watched the price double before your eyes, and still paid $300 for a $40 show, D.C. law was about to be your friend. Now a coalition of the biggest names in secondary ticketing is asking a federal judge to make sure that never happens.
On Wednesday, October 14, the Ticket Policy Forum (TPF), together with SeatGeek, Vivid Seats, Gametime and TickPick, filed their complaint in the U.S. District Court for the District of Columbia. They want a judge to block the District's RESALE Act before it takes effect January 1, 2027. The ask is urgent: the plaintiffs have also filed a motion for a preliminary injunction, asking the court to prevent enforcement against them and TPF's members before the restrictions become applicable.
The stakes are concrete. The companies are challenging the District's Restricting Egregious Scalping Against Live Entertainment (RESALE) Amendment Act, which limits covered ticket resale prices to 10% above the original purchase price and caps additional marketplace service fees at another 10%. Sports tickets are largely exempt. Most sports tickets are exempt from the restrictions.
How the law got here
The RESALE Act was first introduced by Ward 6 Councilmember Charles Allen. He announced it at a press conference inside The Anthem on April 8, 2025, flanked by local venue operators and musicians who had been watching secondary-market prices blow past anything fans could afford. The frustration was specific: at the 9:30 Club alone, resale tickets averaged $395 versus an average face value of $37.
Audrey Fix Schaefer, director of communications for I.M.P., the company that operates the 9:30 Club, The Anthem, Lincoln Theatre and The Atlantis, helped drive the push. Her argument to the Council was direct: "The money siphoned by ticket brokers and secondary market platforms goes out of D.C. entirely," she testified. "To hedge funds that have never booked a band or hired D.C. workers."
The D.C. Council passed the RESALE Act unanimously. Mayor Bowser initially opposed a provision that gave the mayor's office power to set caps on primary ticket prices, but that portion was stripped out before the final vote, giving the bill unanimous Council approval. The law then cleared congressional review and is now on the books as D.C. Act 26-410.
Allen also wrote in a ban on speculative ticketing, the practice of resellers listing tickets they do not yet possess. The bill bans the sale of tickets which a reseller does not actually possess and requires bonding and registration for high-volume resellers. Resellers would be fined $5,000 for the first violation and $10,000 for further violations.
What the lawsuit actually argues
The 40-page complaint, filed October 14, names the Ticket Policy Forum, SeatGeek, Vivid Seats, Gametime and TickPick as plaintiffs. The case is Ticket Policy Forum Inc. et al. v. District of Columbia, Case No. 1:26-cv-03577.
The companies raise three main objections. First, geography: the Act sets prices for any resale of a ticket to a D.C. event regardless of where the buyer, seller and marketplace are located, and fewer than 1% of the covered transactions last year by the companies in this lawsuit involved both a D.C. seller and buyer. In other words, they argue D.C. is trying to govern commerce happening entirely outside its borders.
Second, due process: the caps are, in their framing, "arbitrary, confiscatory, and violate the Due Process Clause," with legal precedents preventing a government from setting rates so low that businesses cannot earn a reasonable return.
Third, the First Amendment: the lawsuit alleged the RESALE Act violates the companies' First Amendment rights by requiring them to publish the original price of tickets listed for resale on their sites, with the filing saying there is "no evidence that displaying the original price helps buyers understand what they are purchasing."
TPF executive director Brian Berry put it bluntly in a statement: "Under the guise of affordability, the District enacted a law that will drive ticket sales into the shadows, subjecting fans to greater risks from street-side scams and increased fraud."
Allen fires back
Allen did not wait long to respond. In an email statement he said: "I introduced this law because companies like the ones behind this lawsuit are gouging DC residents using technology to scoop up as many live music tickets as they can and resell them at inflated prices. Under my bill, that show is over."
"It really is leveling the playing field for the person who wants to go see a show," Allen told NBC4. Fix Schaefer was just as terse: "They just want to keep taking advantage of everyone," she said.
Allen's office had anticipated legal pushback from the moment the bill was drafted. Allen's staff confirmed the budget and staff needed to enforce the legislation had already been set aside before the Council's final vote. The Office of the Attorney General was involved in shaping enforcement from the bill's introduction.
The Home Rule wrinkle
The lawsuit's Home Rule Act claim may be the one that D.C. legal observers watch most carefully. The resellers say the cap of 10% above face value for most concerts and other non-sports events in D.C. is a violation of the Constitution and the D.C. Home Rule Act. The Home Rule Act argument is separate from the constitutional questions: it essentially contends that the District overstepped the legislative authority Congress granted it when it enacted a law with such broad extraterritorial reach.
For a city that has spent decades fighting for greater self-governance, having its own consumer-protection law challenged as an overreach of its limited home-rule powers is a particular kind of irony. If enacted and upheld, Washington would be only the second jurisdiction after Maine to have an overall resale price cap that strict. Maine has not faced a comparable legal challenge. Whether D.C.'s version survives will likely shape what other cities try next.
What the venues say is already broken
The lawsuit landed as local venue operators say the secondary market has only gotten worse. According to Audrey Fix Schaefer of I.M.P., the company has seen a surge in ticket scalping in recent years, with some tickets being resold for several times their original price, a practice she says hurts fans and local businesses by driving up costs and pulling money out of D.C.'s economy.
"When fans come to our box offices with fake tickets, it's us at the venue that are faced with an understandably angry customer that thinks it's our fault," Fix Schaefer told the D.C. Council. That complaint covers shows at the 9:30 Club on V Street NW, The Anthem at the Wharf on Maine Avenue SW, and the historic Lincoln Theatre on U Street NW.
The argument from supporters has always gone beyond the ticket stub itself. One consistent thread in testimony was that ticket reselling creates what Allen described as an "artificial market" that inflates ticket sales beyond what the artist or venue originally sets, shutting fans out of concerts and keeping fans that do attend from spending money on food, drinks or merchandise that support the local economy.
What D.C. Residents Should Watch
The court will first decide whether to grant the preliminary injunction before January 1, 2027. If the judge blocks enforcement while the case proceeds, the RESALE Act's caps will not apply to any ticket sold for a D.C. event until the litigation resolves, which could take years. Allen's office has signaled it will defend the law aggressively, and the Office of the Attorney General is expected to represent the District in court. Watch for an injunction hearing date to be set in the coming weeks.
Separately, the District is not the only one moving. Other cities and states have been watching D.C.'s RESALE Act as a potential model. A ruling that strikes down the law on extraterritoriality grounds could dim interest in similar legislation elsewhere, while a ruling upholding it could accelerate copycat bills. The first hearing in Ticket Policy Forum Inc. et al. v. District of Columbia will be the signal.
For now, the 9:30 Club still has its $37 average face-value tickets sitting next to $395 resale listings on the same screen.
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CAN I KICK IT? screens New Jack City at the Sylvan Theater, Washington Monument, on Aug. 22. (Courtesy SHAOLIN JAZZ)
The live-cinema series CAN I KICK IT? returns to the National Mall this month with what its producers are calling the "Gangsters on the Mall" chapter of their free outdoor summer run. On Saturday, August 22, the SHAOLIN JAZZ production brings the 1991 crime classic New Jack City to the Sylvan Theater at the Washington Monument for a night of film, music, and community under the DC summer sky.
What sets the event apart is the sound. As the film plays, DJ 2-Tone Jones builds an original score in real time, reimagining one of the most iconic crime movies of the ’90s through hip-hop, soul, funk, and more. It is less a movie screening than a live performance built around the film.
The details:
Film: New Jack City (1991), with a live soundtrack by DJ 2-Tone Jones
When: Saturday, August 22 — seating opens at 7:30 p.m. (bring lawn chairs and blankets); film begins at 8:30 p.m.
Where: Sylvan Theater at the Washington Monument, Independence Ave SW & 15th St NW
A parking note from the organizers: expect road closures and restricted parking east of 14th Street NW due to a separate race event in the District. Roads west of 14th Street NW will be accessible and available for parking.
New Jack City is the second of three screenings in this year’s free CAN I KICK IT? outdoor series, which opened with Black Panther at Skyland Town Center and concludes with Scarface at the Lincoln Memorial on September 5. Produced by the Washington, DC-based multimedia arts company SHAOLIN JAZZ, the series has presented more than 150 live cinematic experiences at venues across the country, from Lincoln Center to SXSW.
"I wanted to be able to tell good stories with substance and remove the ‘ego’ out of the art," said Andrew Huang during a recent interview. Now, he’s building his career at the intersection of discipline, creativity and innovation.
Andrew Huang, founder of New Place Studios. (Courtesy photo)
As a Chinese American, Huang was reared with a deep respect for hard work, consistency and excellence. He describes his childhood as "not so affluent" and later attended college to hone his passion for videography. "In college I tried to do something I loved, which was video, but along the way I knew that I had to find a job. And so I thought, ‘what was the low hanging fruit to get to that stable 9 to 5 job?,’" he stated.
Later in life, Huang found himself working for corporations where his creativity was often limited, eventually leading to burnout. "I worked in a corporation for a long time and there were a lot of missing pieces. I wanted to fill in gaps missing in corporate video production," said Huang.
He later described how his upbringing and a mindset of "survival" led him toward a corporate career. However, his desire for balance and authentic storytelling ultimately pushed him to take the entrepreneurial leap.
"I founded a new place where you can create video and film with ‘substance and style,’" said Huang. His desire for work-life balance and passion for storytelling naturally evolved into a small business based in Virginia. With the launch of New Place Studios, the entrepreneur quickly found himself reconnecting with the values that would become the foundation of everything he creates behind the camera.
Huang said being a business owner has allowed him to first embrace himself. While others may see video as simply capturing moments, he sees it as a way to preserve stories that inspire, connect and leave a lasting imprint.
By combining cinematic visuals with cutting-edge production techniques and a keen understanding of branding, Huang helps organizations and individuals communicate their vision with purpose. He said understanding a client’s "why" serves as the compass for delivering the services they need.
One benefit of working with a small business, he said, is that clients get to see the production process unfold through a micro lens while working with the same faces throughout the entire project. "The work feels personal," said Huang.
Huang does not regret leaving behind the flash-over-substance mentality and corporate hustle culture. That does not mean the Asian American entrepreneur has been without challenges in the industry. "It’s relatively hard to find other Asian American creatives or people who would want to work with me in the DMV," said Huang.
He identifies the industry culture in which everyone is trying to blend in, creatives may fear displaying their Asian identity and some feel pressure to adopt an American corporate persona. He also points to what he describes as a level of gatekeeping within the industry. According to the U.S. Small Business Administration’s 2024 statistics, Asian American and Pacific Islander entrepreneurs own more than 3 million businesses and employ 5.2 million people in the United States.
After tapping into organizations such as SCORE, which offers free small business mentorship, New Place Studios has become a trusted creative partner throughout the DMV (Washington, D.C., Maryland and Virginia). The company produces a range of creative services, including commercials, corporate branding, documentaries, film, 2D animation, motion graphics and photography.
For Huang, entrepreneurship has become more than a departure from corporate life. It has given him the freedom to create with intention, build meaningful connections and tell stories that go beyond the surface.
The 2026 CAN I KICK IT? outdoor series. Poster courtesy of SHAOLIN JAZZ.
For three Saturdays this summer, some of Washington’s most familiar public spaces will do something they rarely do after dark: fill up with blankets, lawn chairs, and the sound of a movie being scored live, in real time. CAN I KICK IT?, the traveling “live cinema” series produced by the DC-based multimedia arts company SHAOLIN JAZZ, is bringing a free outdoor run to the city — pairing three era-defining films with an original soundtrack performed on the spot by DJ 2-Tone Jones.
The premise is what sets it apart from a normal screening in the park. Rather than simply pressing play, 2-Tone Jones builds a score as the film unfolds, pulling from hip-hop, soul, funk, jazz, rock, electronic music, and sounds from around the world. The result, the organizers say, is less a movie night than a one-time performance — the same film you know, wired to a soundtrack you have never heard and will not hear again. Guest DJs warm up the crowd starting at 7:30 PM before each 8:30 PM screening.
The 2026 outdoor schedule
All three events are free and open to the public.
Saturday, August 8 — Black Panther at Skyland Town Center. A pop-up marketplace and community activities kick off the evening; guest DJs at 7:30 PM, film at 8:30 PM. Marvel’s superhero epic gets a one-night-only live score in Southeast DC.
Saturday, August 22 — New Jack City at the Sylvan Theater, Washington Monument. Seating begins at 7:30 PM; the film starts at 8:30 PM. The 1991 crime drama plays out at the foot of one of the country’s most recognizable landmarks.
Saturday, September 5 — Scarface at the Lincoln Memorial. Seating at 7:30 PM; film at 8:30 PM. The series closes with Brian De Palma’s crime saga against the backdrop of the Memorial, scored live from start to finish.
First up: Black Panther at Skyland Town Center on August 8. Poster courtesy of SHAOLIN JAZZ.
A DC company with a national footprint
SHAOLIN JAZZ describes itself as a Washington-based arts company working at the intersection of music, film, art, and culture, and CAN I KICK IT? is its signature production. According to the organizers, the series has staged more than 150 live cinematic experiences around the country — at performing arts centers, museums, festivals, and cultural institutions including Lincoln Center in New York, SXSW, the Denver Center for the Performing Arts, Republic Square in Austin, the Tacoma Armory, and The Cary Theater.
“CAN I KICK IT? has always been about creating a shared experience,” said Gerald Watson, co-founder of SHAOLIN JAZZ. “When you combine iconic films with live music in public spaces, something special happens. People aren’t just watching a movie — they’re experiencing it together. That’s what makes these nights so memorable.”
Cinema as a community event
The DC run lands as cities across the country look for new ways to activate public space through arts and culture — and this series is a straightforward pitch for how to do it: take a landmark everyone already knows, add a film everyone has an opinion about, and let a live soundtrack turn the evening into something neighbors experience shoulder to shoulder. Families, film buffs, and music fans are all invited, and admission won’t cost a thing.
The CAN I KICK IT? outdoor series runs August 8, August 22, and September 5. All events are free; check SHAOLIN JAZZ (shaolinjazz.com) for the latest details and any weather updates before heading out.
