The NFL’s Super Bowl ticketing policies are to be examined by New Jersey’s Supreme Court today (Thursday) after claims that the league violated state consumer fraud laws.
The allegations are in reference to practices the league allegedly undertook leading up to the 2014 NFL championship game at MetLife Stadium, home to the New York Giants and the New York Jets.
Josh Finkelman, the fan who filed the lawsuit, claims the NFL’s practice of releasing roughly one per cent of available tickets through a lottery, with the rest going to teams, sponsors and other insiders, is against New Jersey law.
His attorney said the league could be liable for millions in damages to Finkelman and other ticketholders.
“He was forced to pay thousands of dollars a ticket where the face value is $800,” Bruce Nagel said. “People were paying five to 10 times the face value of the tickets. That’s not right.”
Finkelman claims leagues ticketing policy violates a New Jersey law, which has since been repealed, that required 95 per cent of tickets to be made available to the public.
Twice a U.S. District judge sitting in New Jersey dismissed the lawsuit stating Finkelman hadn’t demonstrated the NFL’s policies had caused him economic harm, partly since he hadn’t entered the lottery.
However, after refilling, the 3rd U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals in Philadelphia ruled last December that the suit could go forward and directed New Jersey’s Supreme Court to hear arguments on the applicability of the state law. Those arguments were scheduled for this morning US time.
Image: Anthony Quintano
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