Two NJ Devils fans filed a class action lawsuit against the team, alleging that the team restricts the resale of tickets by season ticket holders. According to the court document, the Devils only allows season ticket holders to resell their individual tickets exclusively through Ticketmaster, the team’s designated reseller. If a ticket holder chooses to sell the ticket by other means, including websites like StubHub.com, the team cancels season tickets or charges extra fees.
The two plaintiffs Rey Olsen and Alex Olsen argue that the ticket-resale policy violates New Jersey’s Consumer Fraud Act as well as Truth-in-Consumer Contract, Warranty and Notice Act (TCCWNA) that explicitly protect ticket holders’ rights to sell their tickets without restrictions.
The two fans claimed their 2013-2014 season tickets were canceled after they attempted to resell some tickets on StubHub.com. In the lawsuit, they argued that online resellers are
“the most efficient way for a season ticket subscriber to sell unusable tickets. Since StubHub offers reliable service and safeguards to minimize the opportunity for fraud in the secondary sale of tickets, [the] Devils have no justifiable reason to preclude, or penalize, season ticket holders to sell Devils tickets on Stub Hub.”
The suit seeks a certification of a class that encompasses all Devils season ticket holders as well as two subclasses, those whose subscriptions were not renewed due to their resale and those who were charged extra fees for reselling by other means than Ticketmaster.
The plaintiffs are seeking a declaratory judgment that the team violated the relevant New Jersey statues and an injunction against any future violations and statutory damages of $100 per violation under the TCCWNA.