Lawsuit Alleges Dominant Ski Operators Inflated Lift‑Ticket Prices and Suppressed Competition by Steering Skiers into Bundled Season Passes Across North America
NEW YORK — DiCello Levitt, Berger Montague PC, and Salahi PC have filed a federal antitrust class action on behalf of skiers and snowboarders nationwide against Vail Resorts, Inc. and Alterra Mountain Company, alleging that the two dominant ski resort operators have each unlawfully inflated prices and suppressed competition through anticompetitive bundling practices tied to their multi‑mountain season passes.
Filed in the U.S. District Court for the District of Colorado, the lawsuit is the first action brought against Vail Resorts and Alterra over these claims, alleging an industry‑wide scheme that has driven up the cost of skiing and snowboarding across North America.
According to the complaint, Vail Resorts and Alterra—together controlling access to nearly every major destination ski resort in North America—have steered skiers and snowboarders into expensive season-pass bundles through Epic Pass and Ikon Pass products by setting single-day lift-ticket prices at artificially high levels. The suit alleges these practices violate federal and state antitrust laws by restraining competition, foreclosing independent ski areas, and forcing consumers to pay supracompetitive prices.
“For years, skiers have been told that soaring lift‑ticket prices, reduced choice, and overcrowding are simply the new reality. Our complaint alleges that these outcomes are not the result of healthy competition, but of exclusionary conduct by two companies that dominate access to the most desirable destinations,” said Partner Greg Asciolla, Chair of DiCello Levitt’s Antitrust and Competition Litigation Practice.
The complaint further alleges that virtually all marquee destination ski resorts are now owned by, or contractually tied to, either Vail Resorts or Alterra—leaving consumers with few meaningful alternatives and pressuring independent regional ski areas to either join one of the two ecosystems or risk being shut out of skier demand altogether.
Plaintiffs seek damages on behalf of a nationwide class of consumers who purchased lift tickets or season passes, as well as injunctive relief designed to restore competition in the ski resort market.
The case is Goloja et al. v. Vail Resorts, Inc. et al., filed in the United States District Court for the District of Colorado. A copy of the complaint is available here.
The DiCello Levitt team on the matter includes Greg Asciolla, Jonathan Crevier, and Carrie Syme.
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