Howie Kaplan, owner of New Orleans venue The Howlin’ Wolf, filed a federal lawsuit against StubHub on September 10, 2026. The suit targets speculative “ghost” ticket listings, automated bots, and deceptive resale practices that Kaplan says deceive fans and harm independent venues.
Venue owner and advocate
Kaplan acquired The Howlin’ Wolf in 2000 and has spent his career focused on preserving New Orleans music culture and advocating for grassroots live entertainment.
- Manages Grammy Award-winning Rebirth Brass Band for more than 17 years
- Vice Chair of Advocacy for the National Independent Venue Association (NIVA)
- Appointed New Orleans’ first Director of the Office of Nighttime Economy in 2022
- Led the “Meals for Musicians” initiative during pandemic shutdowns and organized street-kitchen relief after Hurricane Ida
Federal lawsuit targets speculative listings
The suit, filed in the U.S. District Court for the Eastern District of Louisiana, alleges false advertising under Section 43(a) of the Lanham Act and violations of the Louisiana Unfair Trade Practices and Consumer Protection Law (LUTPA).
Kaplan said the case is focused on speculative, or “spec,” tickets rather than ticket price caps. “The price cap issue is something entirely different,” he said. “There are so many issues we have, but this is one I think we can all agree on: you can’t sell something you don’t have.”
Why Kaplan filed
Kaplan described the lawsuit as a continuation of problems facing independent venues. “Before the pandemic, it was more something affecting larger shows or larger venues,” he said. “But now you’ve got bots that literally list shows that don’t exist for four times what your average ticket price is.”
He added: “This isn’t some little ‘someone bought a ticket for $20 and sold it for $40.’ This is really about protecting venues, protecting fans, and protecting artists. We keep playing this game like it’s okay to sell something you don’t have. That, to me, is a little asinine.”
Kaplan also framed tickets as licenses, not commodities. “To me, a ticket is not a commodity: it’s a license,” he said. “When you buy season tickets for the New Orleans Saints, you sign a contract with terms. These aren’t secondary market sellers; these are scalpers. They create confusion in the marketplace, commit fraud and deception, and get away with it because nobody is stopping them. Fans think they’re buying tickets directly from us.”
Legislative efforts and existing law
Kaplan said state-level reform stalled after a bill was pulled before the Senate Commerce Committee. “In Louisiana, you can’t sell a physical ticket in front of Tiger Stadium above face value, but you can do it for 10 times the price on a phone. We tried working on state legislation. We got a sponsor, put in massive effort, and were ready to go in front of the Senate Commerce Committee when the bill got pulled. Resale platforms spend hundreds of thousands of dollars lobbying against these bills.”
He pointed to existing statutes, including the Better Online Ticket Sales (BOTS) Act, as grounds for the suit. “So I looked at it and realized we don’t need a new law if what they’re doing is already illegal under existing statutes like the Unfair Trade and Deceptive Practice Law (LUTPA) and the federal Lanham Act,” Kaplan said. “Under the Lanham Act, you can’t take somebody’s name, mislead on ticket scarcity, or trick consumers. Plus, federal law like the BOTS Act is already on the books.”
Impact on fans at the door
Kaplan cited examples of speculative listings appearing before official sales. “We have shows with zero official box office tickets sold, yet speculative listings are live on StubHub,” he said. “We had a guy spend $96 on a $25 ticket for a show that wasn’t even happening for another two months, and the listing had the wrong date on it. The show hadn’t even gone on sale because we were tweaking the date! He just didn’t know.”
He also said StubHub’s own terms prohibit speculative ticket sales. “StubHub’s own terms of service state you cannot sell speculative tickets on their site. What are they doing to stop it? Nothing. If I allowed illegal activity inside my venue, I’d be shut down immediately. Platforms shouldn’t get a free pass.”
Venue-led legal strategy
Stone Church owner Robin Gristkovsky in Vermont filed a similar lawsuit. Kaplan said the cases are part of an industry-wide response. “I’ve known Robin for a while. Rebirth Brass Band actually played Stone Church recently. This isn’t just a Howlin’ Wolf issue or a Vermont issue; it’s an industry-wide problem. Stone Church filed in the Southern District of New York, and we filed in federal court in Louisiana.”
“The goal right now is to draw attention to something ludicrous, get everyone in the industry on the same page, and figure out how to stop this. This is the first of many steps,” Kaplan said.
