3rd Circuit Tells Super Bowl Ticket Plaintiff ‘It’s Over’
New Jersey’s sorest loser, who asked the U.S. Court of Appeals for the Third Circuit for an en banc rehearing of his proposed class action over high-priced Super Bowl tickets, was finally sacked and put out of the game this week.
As reported by Law360, the 3rd Circuit declined to rehear his appeal en banc. The lawsuit, based on the “Ticket Law” section of the Garden State’s ever-expanding consumer protection law, was first filed in January 2014 as East Rutherford prepared to host its first — and now, probably its last — Super Bowl.
The plaintiff, Josh Finkelman , had his case against the NFL dismissed out of hand by a federal trial court and, after he appealed, by a Third Circuit panel last month. Absurdly, Finkelman essentially claimed that Super Bowl tickets are expensive — Duh! — and that the general public doesn’t have an adequate chance to vie for the limited number of seats made available through the league’s ticket lottery.
Ultimately ruling that the plaintiff had no standing to pursue his claim, the Third Circuit politely feigned commiseration:
Many of us have felt the disappointment of wanting to attend a concert or athletic event only to discover that the event has sold out. When an artist or sports team is especially popular, the gap between the supply of tickets and the demand for those tickets can be enormous. Some people will be able to attend such an event; others will not.
The judges may have reasonably added: “Get a life, loser.”