Detroit Lions' Ticketholders v City of Detroit
Judge Declares Ticket-Selling Law Unconstitutional
U.S. District Judge John Corbett O'Meara ruled that the city of Detroit's anti-ticket scalping ordinance is unconstitutional and unenforceable where sellers are offering tickets to sports and concert events for face value or less.
O'Meara also granted class-action status to the damages portion of the lawsuit. He directed a Detroit area lawyer who represented four men charged outside of Ford Field or Comerica Park with buying or selling tickets to concerts and a football game, to present a plan for identifying and notifying others who were arrested or cited for violating the ordinance.
"There are probably anywhere from 1,200 to 1,500 people eligible," an attorney said. Once the city provides the names, there will be a mailing and an advertisement in a newspaper so that class members can take part in the lawsuit unless they opt out, he said.
O'Meara said the city's ordinance failed to establish a substantial government interest in prohibiting ticket resales for face value or less. There is a state law that prohibits reselling at a profit, so-called "scalping."
City lawyers have not yet decided whether to ask O'Meara to reconsider his ruling or to appeal it.
