The New York Yankees and the New York Mets fans have banded together to demand refunds for games not played. A pair of fans are suing MLB demanding the refunds.
Back in March, Commissioner Rob Manfred halted spring training games and announced the delay of the beginning of the regular season for two weeks. Since then, the coronavirus has spread and has led to the season being further pushed back. At the moment, MLB has no idea when a shortened season will start or if the season will be played at all. MLB had put forth several plans, but none have been decided upon.
The lawsuit was filed Monday in U.S. District Court in Los Angeles by Matthew Ajzenman, who said he bought a partial season plan for more than 20 Mets games; and Susan Terry-Bazer, who said she purchased six tickets for a May 9 game at Yankee Stadium against Boston. The suit claims:
“Baseball fans are stuck with expensive and unusable tickets for unplayable games in the midst of this economic crisis,†the lawsuit said. “Under the pretext of `postponing’ games, at the directive of MLB, teams and ticket merchants are refusing to issue refunds for games which are not going to be played as scheduled — if ever.”
The suit is against Ticketmaster, Stubhub, Live Nation and Last Minute Transactions are among the defendants. The suit further claims that the defendants continue to retain enormous profits from tickets sold for the 2020 MLB season at the expense of fans’ financial hardship.” The suit also names MLB, Commissioner Rob Manfred, New York Yankees, the other 29 MLB teams for the return of monies paid for tickets, and certification of class-action status.
Fans have asked for full restitution and an accounting of all 2020 ticket sales. It includes season tickets, single-game tickets, and public seat licenses. The suit contends that the conduct of continuing to sell tickets for the 2020 MLB regular season violates California law. The suit further states violations of California’s Consumer Legal Remedies Act and Unfair Competition Law and of civil conspiracy.
MLB has said it is awaiting government and medical direction, and it does not know when the season can begin. The league and the players’ union have discussed the possibility of playing at neutral sites or in empty ballparks, but no decisions have been made. The latest plans include starting the season in June in MLB home parks. With all the different plans being floated, it further demonstrates that MLB has no solid plan going forward.
MLB, the New York Yankees, and the New York Mets have been contacted by the New York Post for comment, but at the time of this writing, they have yet to respond by commenting on the pending suit.