Jan 7 (Reuters) - A consumer lawsuit accusing Live

Nation and subsidiary Ticketmaster of charging artificially high

ticket prices will proceed at the same time as a parallel

antitrust case filed by the U.S. government and 39 states, a

federal judge has ruled.

U.S. District Judge George Wu in Los Angeles on Monday

rejected a request from Live Nation to pause the proposed class

action amid the government's lawsuit, which seeks to break up

the two companies.

The consumers' lawsuit, a proposed nationwide class action

seeking monetary damages, was filed in January 2022. The

government case was lodged in federal court in Manhattan in May.

Live Nation said allowing the two lawsuits to move ahead at

the same time risked wasting resources and could lead to

potentially conflicting rulings.

Live Nation and attorneys for the consumers did not

immediately respond to requests for comment.

Live Nation has denied any wrongdoing in the cases.

Both cases claim Live Nation limits competition for live

event ticketing through exclusive deal arrangements and other

barriers. The consumer case was brought on behalf of a potential

class of millions of original ticket purchasers and resale

ticket purchasers.

The consumers had accused Live Nation of delaying the case

for years, as the company tried to force the claims to be heard

in a private arbitration and not in court.

A U.S. appeals court in October refused to order the claims

into arbitration, which would have halted the litigation in

court.

Wu on Monday rejected Live Nation's argument that the

government case, which is set for a trial in 2026, was

significantly more advanced than the consumer lawsuit.

"The only reason why this case has not progressed further is

because defendants sought to enforce extremely unconscionable

arbitration terms," Wu wrote in an order last week.

The case is Skot Heckman et al v. Live Nation et al, 9th

U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals, No. 23-55770.

For plaintiffs: Warren Postman and Albert Pak of Keller

Postman; and Kevin Teruya and Adam Wolfson of Quinn Emanuel

Urquhart & Sullivan

For defendants: Roman Martinez and Tim O'Mara of Latham &

Watkins

Read more:

Live Nation must face consumer lawsuit over ticket prices,

US appeals court rules

Live Nation 'suffocates its competition,' US says in

monopoly lawsuit

Live Nation in consumer ticket-price lawsuit loses bid for

'mass' arbitration