Local fans who sued Aerosmith over last year's canceled concert on Maui won a major procedural round in court yesterday.

Circuit Judge Joseph Cardoza granted class-action status for the lawsuit, in a move that increases the potential damages that Aerosmith would have to pay should the rock band lose the lawsuit.

"What this does is force them to resolve the issue for all 8,700 class members," said Brandee Faria, who filed the suit last year.

Local concertgoers sued Aerosmith in October, alleging the bad-boy rock group canceled a sold-out, Sept. 29, 2007 concert on Maui in favor of "a lucrative, private concert for Toyota car dealers" that same week at the University of Hawai'i-Manoa's Les Murakami Stadium.

The cancellation cost ticket buyers as a group anywhere between $500,000 and $3 million for travel costs, handling fees and other nonrefunded costs, the suit said.

Although buyers received refunds for the face value of the tickets, they did not get their money back for fees and other costs associated with the event, the suit said.

Jay Handlin, attorney for Aerosmith, characterized Cardoza's ruling yesterday as procedural and having no bearing on the actual claims that are being asserted.

"We think the claims are meritless," Handlin said.

Cardoza, who earlier this year denied a request by Aerosmith's lawyers to dismiss the case, will hold a hearing on Aug. 29 to set a trial date.

Although customers received refunds for the price of the tickets they purchased, many bought advance tickets by joining Aerosmith's fan club or by paying a membership fee to the Maui Arts & Culture Center, where the concert was supposed to be held.

The membership fees — which ranged between $40 and $70 for the Maui Arts & Culture Center and $29.99 and about $40 for the group's fan club — were not refunded, the suit said.

The class-action status increases the potential damages that Aerosmith would have to pay should they lose the suit. The threat of a big payout can provide consumers with more leverage to force a settlement.

The Maui concert was supposed to be the final stop on Aerosmith's 11-city North America tour, but the event was shelved after the band had to reschedule a larger Chicago concert for Sept. 24.

Aerosmith said the new Chicago date made it logistically impossible to go on with the Maui concert two days later, even though the band would play several days after the Toyota group.

According to the suit, Aerosmith sold at least 9,000 tickets for the show at Maui War Memorial Stadium, whereas the Chicago concert sold 18,500 tickets.