A month after NFL owners approved Rams owner Stan Kroenke’s plan to relocate the team to Los Angeles, jilted fans in St. Louis are calling for their money back.
In a proposed class action complaint filed Tuesday in a Missouri federal court, tens of thousands of St. Louis Rams season ticket holders say their personal seat licenses are now unusable. The licenses reserved seats for season ticket holders to all home games through 2024, but now that the team is relocating those fans are asking for reimbursement for the remaining nine years.
Anthony Bruning, one of the lawyers representing the class told Law360 that damages on unused or unhonored seat licenses could range from $20 to $25 million. However, with interest accruing from 1995, the first year licenses were sold, the damages could rise to $50 million for the class.
When fans first bought their seats, they signed a contract that prevented them from suing the Rams, but the complaint says those contracts are illusory.
The complaint seeks to void those contracts, and hold the Rams accountable – either for repayment on unusable licenses, or for damages based on unfulfilled promises.
“Without providing the [license] owner any means to hold the Rams to their supposed promises, this purported contract allows the Rams to perform their obligations or not, solely on condition of their whim,” the complaint reads.
It’s not the first suit the Rams have faced since the relocation was announced. In January, another class action suit was filed alleging that the team misled fans in Missouri who bought tickets or merchandise.
by Jason Scott
“Reprinted with permission from Athletic Business, www.