More than 22 complaints have been filed against Crown Theatre by people claiming they did not receive a refund to which they were entitled. At least 16 of those complaints have been referred to Indiana Attorney General’s consumer litigation section for further review. According to court records, the complaints had previously been closed because the theatre had not honored requests for voluntary mediation. Lisa Carpenter, the attorney for the plaintiffs stated she does not feel the theatre’s lack of a response justifies the closing of her clients’ cases.

Carpenter says she received a letter in March from the AG’s office and was told her complaint had been moved to a case enforcement team. She says she is hoping her clients receive a reimbursement and she intends to pursue the matter if the court doesn’t order the parties to mediation.

Carpenter is personally affected by the lack of action by the theatre. She claims she purchased three tickets to see Dueling Pianos in April 2019 at the cost of $90. She requested a refund that July when she noticed the theatre was still closed. Another plaintiff also requested a refund for two shows she had tickets for and estimates she is owed about $500.

According to chief counsel and director of the AG’s consumer protection division Betsy DeNardi, ‘Cases get moved from our mediation process to review for enforcement in a variety of different ways and different reasons.” She notes that mediation doesn’t always mean a case will go to the case enforcement team.  She also noted that the theatre not responding is not a reason to not move it.

According to DeNardi, the case enforcement process is similar to voluntary mediation, but if defendants refuse to participate, the case can wind up in the courtroom.