Tel Aviv District Court Judge Shoshana Almagor today (Sunday) approved a class action lawsuit against the Zappa Performance Corporation, after it did not return money to its clients for cancellations that were canceled and postponed since the start of the Corona crisis about two years ago until today.
It should be noted that it has not yet been decided how much money will be refunded to ticket buyers for canceled shows.
The lawsuit against Zappa and the request to recognize it as a class action lawsuit were filed by attorneys Yuval Etzioni and Eldad Pessi of the law firm of Etzioni, Pessi & Co., on behalf of Noa Guetta, who held several tickets for several performances of the company.
The lawsuit was filed after the first two corona closures, after realizing that Zappa did not intend to return her money for the tickets she purchased for canceled or postponed performances.
Tel Aviv at one time the Corona closures (archive),
Judge Almagor ruled in her decision to approve the class action lawsuit, claiming that Zappa would pay a fee of NIS 150,000 plus VAT. Points out Zappa, writing that "the petitioner showed that there is reason to believe that Zappa did not act in good faith in the performance of the contract, when she did not fulfill the obligations imposed on her in the contract and the obligation to return, nor did she respond to the applicant's numerous requests." "The obligation to reimburse by virtue of the contract laws, there is a reasonable possibility that the lawsuit will be decided in favor of the group and that Zappa became rich due to an illegal action."
The judge also ruled that in the company's response, it raised various factual allegations casually and without supporting them with any evidence, such as the claim that most ticket buyers prefer to wait for a replacement show to take place in the future and are not interested in returning their paid money, or allegations That did not exist and for which she paid advances to the artists.
The court ruled that in the absence of data, there is much doubt as to whether there is any real claim in the company that it has suffered economic damages and that it and its dependents will collapse if it is required to return the money.
As part of the legal proceedings, which took place for nearly two years, the parties also conducted an unsuccessful mediation.
Judge Almagor noted in the decision that "in the summaries on behalf of Zappa, very many factual statements were woven for which no evidence was presented, and this should be condemned. Submitting summaries in this way is not appropriate."
Appearance in Zappa (archive, the photographers have nothing to do with the news), Photo: Private
In the absence of the plaintiff's attorney, Adv. Yuval Etzioni and Adv. Eldad Pessi, they stated: "This is an important decision that protects Zappa clients from a bad-faith and manipulative performance corporation, which has grossly trampled on the rights of its clients throughout the Corona crisis. Zappa deliberately avoided "Returning money to tens of thousands of her clients for the hundreds of shows that were canceled and postponed during the Corona. Her response to her clients did not work, and the solution she offered did not respond, hurting customers and extorting their money."
They added that "in its decision, the court expressed its displeasure that it had been almost two years since the shows were supposed to take place, and the majority of the group had not yet been reimbursed for the tickets paid for. The situation is unreasonable, disproportionate and unacceptable."
Advocate Etzioni told Israel Today: "In the last two years, Zappa has canceled hundreds of events due to closures or restrictions on gatherings, and has not returned money for hundreds of thousands of tickets.
They decided when to give back, to whom to give back and how much to give back - especially to those who rang more, to those who shouted more.
Slowly they return the money to whoever they want.
"On Friday, I received a message from someone who bought tickets two years ago, who only now received a refund of NIS 998 - and he used to send them messages all the time."
Etzioni stated: "We are not prepared for any compromise outline that returns less than 100% of the cost of the ticket, especially in light of the fact that it is so long after the event."
Mazapa said: "Zappa is acting in accordance with the law and will continue to do so. We will study the decision and act in accordance with the ways set forth in the law."
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