Fans who were denied Super Bowl seats file class-action lawsuit

Ticket-holding football fans who ended up with no seats or what they considered bad views of the Super Bowl have filed a class-action lawsuit against the NFL, the Dallas Cowboys and team owner Jerry Jones.

The federal lawsuit filed Tuesday in Dallas alleges breach of contract, fraud and deceptive sales practices on behalf of people who ended up watching the game on TV at Cowboys Stadium in Arlington, Texas, or had seats the lawsuit labeled “illegitimate.”

The NFL had announced hours before the Green Bay Packers played the Pittsburgh Steelers on Sunday that about 1,250 temporary seats were deemed unsafe, and the league scrambled to find new seats for about 850 people. The remaining 400 were forced to watch from standing-room locations around the stadium.

One plaintiff is a Steelers fan from Pennsylvania who was among the 400 with a ticket but no seat. The other is a Cowboys season-ticket holder who claims many of Jones’ biggest-spending fans were stuck in metal folding chairs without a view of the stadium’s giant video board.

Spokesmen for the Cowboys and the NFL had no comment Wednesday.

Los Angeles-based attorney Michael J. Avenatti said he expects the suit to cover about 1,000 people.

“No one is attempting to get rich from this,” he said. “People are merely interested in being compensated for what happened [at the stadium] and the cost that goes with that.”

Avenatti said he is a Cowboys season-ticket holder who attended Sunday’s game. He said he wasn’t one of the fans affected by the seating issues but heard plenty of complaints.

“People at the game were disgusted, but it doesn’t take long to be disgusted with a situation like this,” he said.

Avenatti said Steve Simms, the Steelers fan named in the lawsuit, was so put off by trying to watch the game from standing-room areas that he left at halftime.

Mike Dolabi, the Cowboys season-ticket holder in the lawsuit, is among a group called “Founders” who paid $100,000 per seat just for the right to buy tickets. Those so-called personal seat licenses resulted in more than $100 million in revenue for Jones, according to the lawsuit, which seeks $5 million in damages.

Some of those fans were in temporary seats under overhangs and couldn’t see the giant video board above the field, “which defendant Jones and the Cowboys routinely claim is one of the most unique and best features of Cowboys Stadium,” the lawsuit said. They could see the field, and extra TVs were installed in those areas.

The lawsuit alleges the Cowboys have offered no compensation to their ticket holders for “their obstructed and illegitimate seats.”

The NFL has said the roughly 400 fans without seats have two options. The first is a ticket to next year’s Super Bowl and a cash payment of $2,400, three times the face value of the ticket. The second is a ticket to any future Super Bowl, along with round-trip airfare and hotel accommodations.

The NFL and players union representatives met for much of the afternoon in Washington to discuss a new collective bargaining agreement. It was the second session in five days, and another session is scheduled for Thursday. Neither side would comment on what was discussed.

Team owners opted out of the CBA in 2008, and the current contract expires March 3. NFL Commissioner Roger Goodell emphasized the need to get a deal done soon during his Super Bowl news conference last week.

TENNIS

Kim Clijsters closes in on world No. 1 ranking

Kim Clijsters moved within one win of taking the No. 1 ranking by rallying to beat Kristina Barrois of Germany, 4-6, 6-2, 6-0, in the second round of the Open Gaz de France at Paris. The Australian Open champion needs to win her quarterfinal match Friday to take the top spot from Caroline Wozniacki of Denmark.

Meanwhile, Nadia Petrova of Russia, Andrea Petkovic of Germany, Yanina Wickmayer of Belgium and Sofia Arvidsson of Sweden advanced to the second round.

The last time Clijsters held the No. 1 ranking was in March 2006.

“It didn’t get into my mind,” Clijsters said about the idea of recapturing the top spot. “One more match … It will be tough. There’s a couple of tough players who might get through.”

Marcos Baghdatis upset second-seeded Andy Murray, 6-4, 6-1, and advanced to the second round of ABN-Amro World Tennis Tournament at Rotterdam, Netherlands. Murray was playing his first match since he lost to Novak Djokovic in Australian Open final.

Ana Ivanovic rallied past American Jill Craybas, 4-6, 6-1, 7-5, in a second-round match at the Pattaya Open in Thailand. Third-seeded Maria Kirilenko of Russia squandered three match points in losing to Kazakh qualifier Galina Voskoboeva, 1-6, 7-5, 6-4.

ETC.

Lindsey Vonn’s status for rest of worlds uncertain

American skier Lindsey Vonn is struggling to recover from a mild concussion, and the reigning overall World Cup champion probably will skip her next event at the world championships — the super-combined Friday — and might withdraw from the event in Germany.

“It’s not official yet, but it’s looking like that,” said Thomas Vonn, Vonn’s husband and chief advisor. “If she comes out [Thursday] and feels great and does a fast training session we could reevaluate, but it’s unlikely at this point that she’ll compete in combined.”

Vonn crashed and hit her head in giant slalom training a week ago in Austria.

Lionel Messi scored on a last-minute penalty kick to give Argentina a dramatic 2-1 victory over Portugal at Geneva, and France continued its resurgence under Coach Laurent Blanc with a 1-0 win over Brazil at Paris. In other high-profile international exhibition games, David Silva scored in host Spain’s 1-0 victory over Colombia; Italy tied host Germany, 1-1; and visiting England beat Denmark, 2-1. At Atlanta, Javier Hernandez and Edgar Pacheco scored in the second half, giving Mexico a 2-0 win over Bosnia-Herzegovina in Coach Jose Manuel de la Torre’s debut.

Chivas USA signed midfielder Simon Elliott and defender Andrew Boyens. Elliott, 36, signed on a free transfer from the Wellington Phoenix of the A-League. Boyens, 27, played with the New York Red Bulls last sesaon.

David Beckham stopped to help a stranded family whose car broke down on the way to school. He pulled over during the morning rush hour near a roundabout in the town of Ware, England, and assisted photographer Paul Long and his two children. Long had been ignored by other motorists before the Galaxy star came to his rescue. He said Beckham asked if they were OK, and Long said he asked for a push to the side of the road. Long told BBC Radio that he said, “Thanks, David, I love you” as the former England captain returned to his car. Beckham is training with Premier League club Tottenham until Feb. 22.

Former Michigan quarterback Tate Forcier has transferred to Miami. Under NCAA rules, he will not be eligible to play for the Hurricanes until 2012.

Danica Patrick said she will drive in 12 NASCAR Nationwide Series events this season, including the first four races, and compete full time in the IndyCar Series. Patrick made 13 starts for JR Motorsports last season, her first foray into stock-car racing. Her best finish was 19th in the season finale at Homestead. She plans to open her second season at Daytona next week.

New Jersey Devils defenseman Anton Volchenkov was suspended for three games for elbowing Carolina’s Zach Boychuk in the head. … New York Rangers captain Chris Drury will have knee surgery and is expected to be out of the lineup for about six weeks, the team said. … Ottawa Senators captain Daniel Alfredsson is out indefinitely because of a back injury. … Vancouver Canucks defenseman Keith Ballard is expected to sit out three to four weeks because of a sprained ligament in his right knee. … The Florida Panthers traded right wing Michael Frolik and goalie Alexander Salak to the Chicago Blackhawks for right wing Jack Skille and two prospects.

U.S. bobsledder Steve Holcomb, who won a gold medal at the 2010 Vancouver Olympics, pleaded guilty to impaired driving in Salt Lake City but will avoid a 180-day jail sentence if he completes 48 hours of community service. Summit County Justice Court Judge Shauna Kerr also ordered Holcomb to pay a $1,430 fine and to undergo substance abuse screening and assessment. Impaired driving is a Class B misdemeanor, as was the original charge against Holcomb of driving under the influence. But it carries lesser penalties.