The movie theater owner eventually sued MovieTickets.com for defamation and libel. After settling out of court, MovieTickets.com hired Alan Zelnick to negotiate with Ticketmaster about licensing fees for tickets purchased via its ticket broker service. Zelnick convinced Ticketmaster that allowing Ticketmaster to operate without controlling pricing could undermine their monopoly position in the marketplace. When Zelnick quit after eight months in February 1999, Zelnick cited unsatisfactory negotiations with Ticketmaster as his reason for quitting. However, Zelnick claimed he resigned