Split Decision In Super Bowl Seating Trial
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DALLAS (CBSDFW.COM) - The verdict was announced Thursday morning in the Super Bowl seating case. The jury found that the NFL had breached their ticket contract by not providing seats to fans at the game when it came to North Texas four years ago. But, the jury said, the league did not commit fraud.
A group of fans had sued the league over problems experienced with temporary seats installed at AT&T Stadium. A few hours before the Super Bowl was set to begin, around 1,250 of those seats were deemed unsafe, forcing ticket holders to move. More than 800 of the fans got new seats while some 400 fans were placed in standing-room locations.
The seven fans who filed the lawsuit said that they either had no seat or received a seat with an obstructed view.
Lawyers representing the fans said that NFL commissioner Roger Goodell and Dallas Cowboys owner Jerry Jones were "obsessed" with breaking Super Bowl attendance records, and sold tickets to seats that they were unable to provide.
The lawsuit also said that settlement offers failed to provide full compensation, despite league claims. Jury members on Thursday awarded the fans varying amounts between $5,600 and $22,000 -- a total of nearly $76,000.
"My clients have waited four long years to be vindicated in this case," Michael Avenatti, attorney for the fan group, said on Thursday morning. "Any effort by the NFL spin machine to now claim victory in this case is nothing short of putting lipstick on a pig."
In a taped deposition, Goodell stated that the NFL was responsible, and executive vice president Eric Grubman testified on Tuesday about planning problems with the seating contractor.
"The NFL has always accepted responsibility for the problems that were experienced by some of its fans at Super Bowl XLV," league attorney Thad Behrens added Thursday morning, "and has attempted, from the beginning, to compensate them for their generously received losses and inconvenience."
The decisions may not be final. Lawyers have filed a motion to bring in a final witness, wanting to hear from contractor Scott Suprina after interviews with ESPN and KRLD. Suprina was quoted by ESPN saying that he was coached by NFL executives before his deposition. He later told KRLD that those allegations were "simply not true."
Suprina blamed the seating debacle on winter weather in DFW that week. Jones testified that, he believed, the NFL did everything possible to finish the seats in time for the game.
If there had been any witness tampering, it could be grounds for a mistrial. The judge gave lawyers until Wednesday to get a subpoena and get Suprina to Dallas. That will determine if the verdict is finalized.
