N.Y. Arts and Cultural Affairs Law § 23.08: Proceeds from advance ticket sales; refunds

§ 23.08. Proceeds from advance ticket sales; refunds. 1. Any ticket

distributor who offers or sells to the public in or from the state of

New York, advance tickets of admission to events to be held in places of

entertainment, or who contracts for the sale of such advance tickets of

admission, and accepts in advance partial or full payment of the

purchase price therefor, shall, no later than the next business day

after receipt thereof, deposit all such advance payments in an escrow

account in a bank, trust company, savings bank, or state or federal

savings and loan association, located in this state. A separate escrow

account shall be established for each place of entertainment. Monies

deposited in escrow shall be released upon performance of each event for

which such monies have been deposited to the extent that such monies

represent payment for advance tickets sold for the performed event. The

person who offers or sells advance tickets shall not be required to keep

in separate depository accounts the funds of the separate ticket

purchasers from whom payments have been received, provided his books of

account shall clearly show the number of tickets sold at each price for

each theatrical production, concert or sporting event for which a

separate escrow account has been established, and the total amount of

advance ticket revenues. Each advance ticket purchaser shall, until the

performance of the event for which the advance ticket has been

purchased, retain a property interest in that portion of the deposit

which equals the amount he has paid for such advance ticket, and shall

be entitled to a refund for such amount if the performance of the event

for which such ticket has been purchased in advance has been cancelled

or rescheduled, except as provided for by subdivision three of this

section.

2. In lieu of the deposit of all such advance payments in an escrow

account as provided in subdivision one of this section, any ticket

distributor who offers or sells advance tickets may post with the

secretary of state in a form, substance and amount satisfactory to the

attorney general, a letter of credit drawn on a bank, trust company,

savings bank, or state or federal savings and loan association, located

in this state, or a bond or contract of indemnity, issued by a surety

company licensed to execute such an instrument in this state, such

letter of credit, bond or contract of indemnity to be in favor of the

state for the benefit of any person who has purchased an advance ticket

if performance of the event for which such ticket has been purchased has

been cancelled or rescheduled, except as provided for by subdivision

three of this section. The amount of the escrow account required to be

established under subdivision one of this section may be reduced by the

amount of the letter of credit, bond or contract of indemnity provided

for in this subdivision provided that the combined amount of money held

in such escrow account and the value of such letter of credit, bond or

contract of indemnity shall at all times at least be equal to the amount

of money collected from advance ticket sales for all events to be held

at each place of entertainment.

3. The refund provisions of subdivisions one and two of this section

shall not apply where (i) there was no material change in the time of

the performance of the event or in the location at which the event was

held; (ii) the performance of such event was rescheduled due to an Act

of God, war, riot or other catastrophe as to which negligence or willful

misconduct on the part of the ticket distributor who offered or sold

such advance tickets was not the proximate cause and where the advance

ticket purchaser was given the right to use his or her ticket for such

rescheduled performance or the right to exchange such ticket for a

ticket comparable in price and location to another, similar event; or

(iii) the back of the ticket conspicuously states that if the

performance is cancelled or rescheduled, the ticket distributor shall

not be required to refund the ticket price if the ticket purchaser is

given the right, within twelve months of the originally scheduled date

of the performance, to attend a rescheduled performance of the same

event or to exchange such ticket for a ticket comparable in price and

location to another, similar event.