Angry Bengal ticket holders seek class action
Was original 1997 brochure an official contract?
By Sharon Coolidge
Enquirer staff writer
Cincinnati Bengals fans who complain they are being forced by the team to buy tickets they don't want asked a Hamilton County Common Pleas judge Tuesday to make their case a class-action lawsuit.
The plaintiffs' attorney, Janet Abaray, asked Judge Robert Ruehlman to allow anyone who purchased tickets via the original brochure - about 2,000 or 3,000 people - to join the lawsuit, and that he create a subclass of anyone who tried to cancel but couldn't.
Abaray also asked Ruehlman to dismiss a counterclaim by the Bengals against three of the plaintiffs for refusing to pay for seats through the end of their contacts.
She also asked that Ruehlman declare the original 1997 brochure regarding payment for seats in the new Paul Brown Stadium the official contract, as ordered by the 1st District Court of Appeals.
Ruehlman, who listened and took notes during a more than hourlong hearing, said he will issue a decision Oct. 7.
"This is not a trivial amount of money," Abaray said. "The Bengals are strong-arming people to collect the money."
The case stems from a brochure sent to fans in 1997 regarding club seats, which explained that buyers would be required to buy a $150 seat license and pick a package that locked in seat prices for six, eight, or 10 years.
Buyers signed the brochure, which outlined 17 rules and regulations, when sending in their choice, Abaray said. Rule 12 explained that if a person didn't continue to purchase tickets, the seat license would lapse, and the $150 fee would be forfeited.
The Bengals later sent out a new document that said canceling was not an option, and people who failed to pay would be liable for immediate and full payment of the cost of season tickets for the entire period. People did not have to sign the document; just keep it in their files.
"They didn't want to include that provision in the original document because they were afraid it would deter sales," Abaray said.
In April 2004, 108 people got letters accusing them of being delinquent in purchasing their seats. The total amount the Bengals were trying to collect was $5.8 million, Abaray said.
Plaintiffs Robert and Betty Brown were told they owed $81,120, Edward Walton was told he owed $58,500, Keith Chabut was told he owed $52,120 and Ronald Wellman was told he owed $16,370. Doug Menne also got a letter.
"It caused a lot of concern and consternation among fans," Abaray said. "They attempted to resolve this with the Bengals and then filed a lawsuit."
In the meantime, the 1st District Court of Appeals ruled that the second document was unenforceable and the terms set forth in the original brochure were binding.
In August, the Bengals sued Walton for $24,000, the Browns for $27,000 and Wellman for $12,000 saying that was money owed for their seats, although they had been resold, Abaray said.
Attorney Eric Combs, who is representing the Bengals, told Ruehlman when the plaintiffs checked six years, eight years or 10 years, they were signing a contract to buy tickets for that amount of time, and prices reflected that.
"Those who picked shorter terms had to pay more," Combs said. "The people who paid for 10 years got more price protection.
"Why would the Bengals offer different year deals if anyone could cancel after one year?" Combs asked. "Nowhere does it give the plaintiffs or any other person the right to cancel."
Combs offered affidavits from fans, including one from David Lindner, president of United Dairy Farmers, who said they interpreted the brochure as being binding with no right to cancel.
"People who can afford to buy these tickets are smart people, they understand you don't get something for nothing," Combs said. He also suggested that should the plaintiffs prevail, every contract would be void, cheating people out of price protection.
Abaray quickly pointed out that she was not seeking to void contracts, only to give people the right to cancel.
"If Mr. Combs didn't like the contract, Mr. Combs' firm should have written a better contract," Abaray said.
"... These people deserve protection. The Bengals need to be stopped. We all know the Bengals have been forcing these contracts on people for too long."
E-mail scoolidge@enquirer.com
