CLAYTON, Mo. (CN) - The Rams breached personal seat license agreements with its St. Louis fans with their move to Los Angeles, irate football fans claim in a class action.
The group led by Envision LLC and three people sued The St. Louis Rams LLC in St. Louis County Circuit Court on Friday.
As part of the Rams moving from L.A. to St. Louis in 1995, the team sold fans personal seat licenses, with the Rams retaining all the proceeds, according to the lawsuit. In return, fans were assigned specific seats in the Edward Jones Dome and were granted to right to buy season tickets for those seats for every season through 2025.
The plaintiffs claim that the agreement includes a stipulation that if the team plays any home games at a venue other than the Edward Jones Dome, then the team will use its best efforts on a pro rata priority basis to assure PSL holders the right to buy tickets in the other stadium.
On Jan. 12, 2016, the Rams and owner Stan Kroenke received NFL approval to move back to L.A. beginning with the 2016 season.
"The PSL holders have a right to transfer their interest in the PSLs, which would include the right to purchase tickets in LA," Plaintiffs' Attorney David R. Bohm, of Danna McKitrick, told Courthouse News. "But the Rams are not acknowledging that they have any right to tickets in L.A. and the website where transfers could be enacted and registered essentially has statements on them that since the Rams have moved out all transactions involving St. Louis fans' PSLs have been terminated."
The Rams have announced that the majority of the seats in their new $2.6 billion stadium currently being built in Inglewood, Calif., will be available through PSLs sold to L.A. fans, according to CBS Los Angeles.
Rams attorney Alan Bornstein did not immediately respond to a phone message Wednesday morning from Courthouse News requesting comment.
The class seeks a declaratory judgment stating that they have a right to buy Rams tickets for comparable seats at any venue in L.A., including the new stadium being built for the Rams, and that they still have the right to transfer PSLs to other fans and retain any revenue from said transfer.
The class consists of more than 50,000 St. Louis Rams fans who bought PSLs, according to the complaint. It consists of both charter PSL holders, fans who originally bought the PSL when the Rams moved to St. Louis in 1995, and PSL owners who bought the seat license from a charter holder and had it transferred to them.
"Essentially the charter PSL holders and the people who have accepted transfer of charter PSLs have a right to seat until 2025 and if the Rams are playing elsewhere the Rams are supposed to make tickets available to them at those other locations," Bohm said in an interview. "The Rams have not honored that commitment."
This is the second class action filed in the aftermath of the Rams move. Another class action filed on Jan. 13 claims the team intentionally misled fans about its intention to move to L.A. in order to induce St. Louis fans to buy tickets and team merchandise.
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