On Wednesday, February 10, 2016, another class action complaint was filed against the NFL’s St. Louis Rams, alleging that the Rams’ move to Los Angeles has rendered St. Louis Rams season tickets “valueless.”
According to the complaint, “tens of thousands” of St. Louis Rams season ticket holders purchased Personal Seat Licenses (PSLs), which gave them the right to purchase season tickets through the 2024 season. Yet, the Rams announced in early 2016 that they were moving to Los Angeles, making the PSLs worthless. The fans allege that they have not been reimbursed for the PSLs that “are now unusable.” More specifically, the plaintiffs are seeking a declaration that the PSL contracts are void and thus the Rams must repay class members for the years remaining on the licenses. In the alternative — if the court determines that the contract is valid — the complaint claims that the Rams owe damages for breaching that contract.
The named plaintiff is Ronald McAllister, a Missouri citizen, who claims he purchased a PSL in 1995 when the Rams first moved to St. Louis, and then purchased a second PSL in 2005, paying $1,000 dollars for each one. The complaint also cites to Forbes magazine, which stated that the average ticket price for Rams PSLs was $2,085 each. Since McAllister first purchased his PSL, according to Forbes, the Rams have sold approximately 46,000 PSLs and have received a total of approximately $96 million for the initial PSLs.
This is not the first class action related to the Rams’ move to Los Angeles. The Rams were hit with a class action in January alleging that the ownership made misleading statements that caused fans to spend money on team apparel and tickets believing that the team was staying in St. Louis.