Displaced Super Bowl Fans Sue...Buyer Beware!

Nothing like some good old fashioned litigation, isn't there?  I am somewhat surprised that it has come to this, but then again, I'm not.  It has been reported that a class action lawsuit has been filed in Los Angeles on behalf of about 1,000 fans who were either reassigned seating or displaced all together due to Cowboys Stadium staff unable to construct temporary seating in time for the Super Bowl.  I understand their plight.  If I paid upwards of $1,000 for a ticket, I want to make sure I get what I paid for.  In this case, the fans in question most definintely did not.  I noted in my Super Bowl recap post that I thought the NFL was doing the right thing here in giving the fans not only a refund, but a triple face value refund ($2,400 for $800 tickets), Super Bowl tickets next year, and hotel and airfare accomodations.  Yesterday they find out that they can go to whatever future Supe Bowl they want, but if they choose a future Super Bowl they don't get the $2,400 (they do get hotel and airfare).  Today we find out that on top of all of that, the affected fans were given field passes for after the game.  I'd say that the NFL (and the Cowboys) did just about everything they could to satisfy some surely angry fans.

Alas, however, that was still not enough as we find out some lawfirm in Los Angeles, surely just trying to make a name for itself by taking on the big bad NFL (it's always California, isn't it?), is filing a class action suit against the League, the Cowboys, and J-squared himself for upwards of $5 million in "damages" (a number that could be tripled).  That doesn't even take into account potential punitive damages.  The litigator-in-chief called it a "straightforward" matter, claiming that people did not get what the paid for.  I agree with that basic conclusion, but $5 million?  Hold on just a second here.  There's a bigger issue here that nobody seems to want to address.  Not only am I about to defend the big bad NFL...but also (gasp!) Jerry Jones and the Dallas Cowboys!  What on Earth could I possibly say that will defend him??  Find out after the jump.


I feel like Judge Judy would have a field day with this.  To understand why I feel like this lawsuit is ridiculous is to understand the nature in which the fans in question obtained the tickets.  If you read between the lines, it becomes fairly obvious that these fans obtained their tickets on the secondary ticket resale market, not directly from the NFL or any of its member franchises.  Therefore, it is also fairly obvious that they paid (significantly) above face value for them.  This is why they must feel like a triple face value refund is nothing more than a slap in the face because they are probably not getting back what they actually paid for the ticket.  I don't know specifics, but I would hazard a guess that these fans paid well beyond $2,400 for each ticket...

...quick aside...which is my mind is just plain dumb...thats $2,400 that you'll never see again.  $100 for a nosebleed Redskins ticket is one thing, but $2,400 to sit on a metal folding chair 2 miles from the field?  I know it's the Super Bowl but come on!...end quick aside

...Therefore, in their minds, it's only fair that they receive damages equal to or worth more than the value they gave up in obtaining the tickets.  If I'm reading between the lines correctly here, this is the crux of their arguement, and on the surface, it's seems quite reasonable.  Here is why I think it doesn't fly in this particular case (and legal scholars are more than welcome to chime in on this).  Once the NFL sells the ticket, and it enters the secondary market, the NFL no longer has control over that ticket or its value.  The NFL has no control over what StubHub can charge (or any scalper on the street).  The only real "law" in question here is whether or not the tickets were sold within 100 yards of the stadium, although if that were the case the fans obtained the tickets illegally and the whole suit should've be thrown out already.  However, assuming that they were legally resold, the NFL cannot tell StubHub what they can charge.  StubHub can charge whatever they feel the market can bear.  They are only interested in supply and demand: Microeconomics 101.  If demand for tickets is high, they are well within their rights to charge exorbitant prices for them.  People buying tickets from StubHub do so at their own risk.  The NFL absolutely would have been well within its rights to simply give the fans in question a face-value refund of the ticket ($800) and say sorry.  The fan assumes all risks associated with purchasing the ticket anyway (that's what the fine print says on the back of the stub) and the NFL nor the Cowboys owe the fans nothing more than the face value of the ticket if what they promised to provide (i.e. a seat) is not in fact provided.

Someone's got an agenda here, and this goes beyond simply getting hosed out of a seat at the Super Bowl, but I can't quite put my finger on what it is.  If I got hosed out of a seat, and I paid at least $800 for it, I would expect to be taken care of as a valued customer.  If you told me that I would be gettng a triple-face value refund, Super Bowl tickets (with all the trimmings) next year, and a trip onto the field OR Super Bowl tickets whenever I want (with all the trimmings) plus a trip on the field, I would be saying, "yes please!"  I think the NFL and the Cowboys did right by these fans.  The real issue in this case is the impact the secondary ticket resale market has had on events such as the Super Bowl.  People who buy tickets from 3rd parties must understand (and I'm as guilty of this as anybody) that when you buy a ticket from somebody OTHER than the official seller of said tickets, you get what you pay for...and that's about it.  3rd party sellers could care less about the quality of the seating arrangements at the event for which they are scalping tickets.  They are just in it for the money. 

What's the moral of this story?  As it says in the title, Buyer Beware!  Do your homework before you buy that ticket online.  Find out what the face value is of that seat in question, and then you have to determine if the price the reseller is asking for is fair.  If you buy from some guy on the street, well, you're completely on your own there and at the mercy of the scalper.  Either way, if you don't buy from the source (in this case the NFL or the Cowboys), and you are not completely satisfied with your experience, don't expect to get any more than the price that it says on the ticket.  The NFL (and other leagues) don't care for 3rd party sellers, and trust me the feeling's mutual. 

Buyer Beware!