Will Philly Pops ticket holders ever see money for canceled concerts? Lawsuit seeks damages.

A Philly Pops ticket buyer on Wednesday filed a proposed class-action suit seeking restitution for herself and other patrons who bought tickets for Philly Pops concerts that were scheduled but never happened. The Philly Pops, Philadelphia Orchestra, Kimmel Center, Ticket Philadelphia, and its leaders were named in the suit filed in U.S. District Court asking for various kinds of damages.

Tickets to concerts that were effectively canceled “were rendered worthless,” the suit says, resulting in audience members losing “at least $1.1 million as a direct and proximate result of defendants’ wrongful acts alleged herein.”

The suit alleges that the concert cancellations were “due to a poorly planned conspiracy to force the Philly Pops out of business for the benefit of the Philadelphia Orchestra.”

Former Pops president Frank Giordano, named in the suit, said he had not seen it and had no comment. He said that while the Philly Pops’ parent, Encore Series Inc., still existed as a corporate entity, there was nothing left of the organization. “There are no assets, no employees, no office. There’s nothing.”

In response to the suit, Ashley Berke, spokesperson for Philadelphia Orchestra and Kimmel Center Inc. — whose president and CEO, Matías Tarnopolsky, is also named in the complaint — said in an email that “as detailed in prior court filings, Encore accumulated more than $1 million in debt to the Kimmel Center and Ticket Philadelphia, which it has yet to pay. While we understand the frustration of ticket holders who have also been victimized by Encore’s financial mismanagement, the responsibility lies with Encore. Encore has admitted in court that it received the ticket money for concerts that were never performed and spent that money on ‘other things.’

“We remain hopeful that Encore will find the means to repay all of its debts, including the substantial sums it owes to us, and honor the commitments it made to its former patrons.”

Karen Corbin, promoted to Pops president and CEO in February 2023, said Wednesday that she was no longer working for the organization, having resigned in June. (She is not named in the suit.)

A second lawsuit was also filed this week — this one from the same lawyers for the ticket holder’s suit and against the same defendants, but on behalf of Terell Stafford, the Pops’ former director of jazz. It follows one filed by Stafford in May, alleging that he wrongfully lost his job and is owed money under his contract. That suit was withdrawn in July, and the new one relies on arguments similar to the ones used in the new ticket holder’s lawsuit.

In response to the Stafford suit, Berke said: “To the extent Encore failed to meet its contractual obligations to Mr. Stafford, his complaint is with Encore and not us. Mr. Stafford previously filed and then withdrew a baseless lawsuit against us in federal court. This latest lawsuit in state court is no better, and we intend to defend against it vigorously.”

The Philly Pops, founded in 1979, announced in November 2022 that it would shut down at the end of the 2022-23 season — a decision it rescinded the following January after strong sales for its Christmas concerts. Weeks later the group was evicted from its home in the Kimmel Center, leaving ticket holders with neither concerts nor refunds.

While the suit was filed by Carol L. Callahan of Montgomery County, who purchased four tickets to Philly Pops concerts in February and May 2023 for a total of $272.80, the suit states that “at a minimum, there are thousands of class members.”

Even as the Philly Pops disappears, the name may live on. Former musicians of the Philly Pops have organized a successor group, the No Name Pops, and are in the process of obtaining rights from the family of onetime Pops music director Peter Nero to the “Philly Pops” name.

Responding to the assertion in the suit that the Philadelphia Orchestra was interested in taking over pops programming, Berke said:

“We remain committed to supporting Philadelphia’s vibrant arts community and continue to invite and celebrate pops music on our stages, including former Philly Pops musicians, now known as the No Name Pops, who are scheduled to perform in Marian Anderson Hall next month and during the 2024 holiday season.”