Detroit Lions Fans File Lawsuit, Say Police Unlawfully Target Ticket Resellers
DETROIT (WWJ/AP) - Five Detroit Lions ticket holders say police are unlawfully targeting people trying to resell sports tickets on the street.
A class action filed Monday in U.S. District Court says the police actions come despite a federal judge's ruling in 2006 that struck down Detroit's so-called anti-scalping law.
"Under Michigan state law, it is illegal to sell your Detroit Lions tickets for over the face value -- that's scalping. But it is perfectly legal to sell your Lions tickets for less than face value," said WWJ Legal Analyst Charlie Langton. "These fans claim that Detroit police don't know the difference and have been arresting people and giving them tickets for selling their Lions tickets on the streets."
Attorney Neal Brand says Detroit police are ignoring the court ruling and forcing ticket sellers into paying fines.
"There's this squad of police officers out there trying to harass people who try to resell tickets," Brand told The Detroit Free Press. "There are many, many people who have pled guilty to this ... It's a shakedown or a cash grab. How hard is it to find two ticket holders waving tickets in the air?"
Brand says the police are skirting the law by issuing citations to ticket resellers for not having a vendors license.
Among the plaintiffs are a father and daughter from Utah who never sold their game tickets, but were ticketed because "police unreasonably suspected that they may sell them," the lawsuit states.
Detroit spokesman John Roach says the city's attorneys were reviewing the complaint. He says a response to the lawsuit will be filed in court.
"Interestingly, state lawmakers are actually considering a bill that would legalize ticket scalping," said Langton. "Proponents say the bill would let the free market decide the price of the ticket, but opponents say that scalpers will drive up the price of tickets."
TM and © Copyright 2015 CBS Radio Inc. and its relevant subsidiaries. CBS RADIO and EYE Logo TM and Copyright 2015 CBS Broadcasting Inc. Used under license. All Rights Reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten, or redistributed. The Associated Press contributed to this report.