Class Action: St. Louis Rams Season Ticket Licenses Worthless Due to LA Move

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A disgruntled St. Louis Rams fan filed a class action lawsuit in Missouri federal court, alleging that fans with season tickets now have unusable seat licenses due to the team’s upcoming move to Los Angeles and that the Rams have not reimbursed fans for the tickets they will be unable to use.

Plaintiff Ronald McAllister filed the St. Louis Rams class action lawsuit on behalf of himself and tens of thousands of season ticket holders who purchased “at great expense” Personal Seat Licenses (PSLs) that allowed them to purchase Rams season tickets through the 2024 season. However, the team announced last month that it would be moving to Los Angeles, making the PSLs worthless.

According to the Rams class action lawsuit, the Los Angeles Rams moved to St. Louis in 1995. “To satisfy the enormous demand for tickets in St. Louis, the Rams required football fans who wished to purchase season tickets to buy PSLs,” the class action lawsuit says. “Based on the Rams’ representations, one PSL would entitle the purchaser to buy one season ticket per year in the designated section of the stadium … through the 2024 season.”

McAllister says he purchased one PSL for $1,000 in 1995, and paid another $1,000 for a second PSL in 2005. According to the Rams class action lawsuit, he was given documents that were represented as contracts, and which indicated the following: 1) that the PSL owner would be able to buy season tickets through the 2024 season, 2) that the Rams could terminate the PSL if the PSL owner defaulted, and 3) that if the Rams terminated the agreement for any other reason, they had to issue a refund for all or part of the PSL owner’s purchase price.

When purchasing their licenses, however, the fans signed a contract that bars them from taking legal action against the Rams. “Without providing the PSL owners any means to hold the Rams to their supposed promises, the purported contract allows the Rams to perform their obligations or not, solely on condition of their whim,” the Rams class action lawsuit alleges.

By filing the Rams season tickets class action lawsuit, McAllister seeks to represent himself and a Class of all individuals who owned a Rams PSL as of the end of the 2015 football season. He seeks a declaration that the license contract is void and that the Rams must repay Class Members for the remaining years on their terminated PSLs.

If the court ultimately determines that the contract is valid, then McAllister says the Rams should be found in breach of contract and be forced to repay the fans.

“The Rams were enriched, at the expense of Plaintiff and the Class, by the receipt of money for PSLs with respect to the years 2016-2014 because they have taken away the right of Plaintiff and Class Members to buy season tickets for those years,” McAllister alleges in the Rams season tickets class action lawsuit.

In January, the Rams were hit with a class action lawsuit filed by fans who claim the team deceived them about the upcoming move to Los Angeles and seeks reimbursement for Missouri residents who purchased tickets, merchandise and/or concessions from the Rams.

McAllister is represented by Richard S. Cornfeld of the Law Office of Richard S. Cornfeld, Anthony S. Bruning of The Bruning Law Firm LLC and Mark Goldenberg, Thomas P. Rosenfeld and Kevin P. Green of Goldenberg Heller & Antognoli PC.

The St. Louis Rams Season Ticket License Class Action Lawsuit is McAllister v. The St. Louis Rams LLC, Case No. 4:16-cv-00172, in the U.S. District Court for the Eastern District of Missouri.

UPDATE : On July 6, 2016, three proposed class actions lawsuits brought by disgruntled soon-to-be former St. Louis Rams season ticket holders were consolidated in Missouri federal court.

UPDATE 2: On Sept. 21, 2016, a federal judge ruled that the Rams must provide personal seat license holders in St. Louis the right to buy season tickets in Los Angeles, or must provide them a refund.

UPDATE 3: On March 13, 2018, a Missouri federal judge granted Class certification to two Classes of former Rams season ticket holders who were affected by the team’s move from St. Louis to Los Angeles.

UPDATE 4: On April 12, 2018, a federal judge denied a motion by the NFL Rams last week, attempting to delay a class action lawsuit over season ticket licensing. In addition, the judge ordered the organization to produce pricing data related to the team’s move from St. Louis to Los Angeles.

UPDATE 5: On Dec. 5, 2018, ticketholders managed to secure a $24 million class action settlement over allegations that the NFL failed to properly repay purchasers after moving its Rams from St. Louis to Los Angeles in 2015.

UPDATE 6: February 2019, the St. Louis Rams personal seat license class action settlement is now open. Click here to file a claim.