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A class action lawsuit claiming Hasbro never delivered on a deal for limited edition Magic: The Gathering card packs was dismissed by a federal judge.
Over two dozen lead plaintiffs claimed that in May 2019 they paid $250 on eBay for a The War of the Spark Mythic Edition card pack, but their orders were rejected by Hasbro and its subsidiary, Wizards of the Coast. The complaint noted that, while Hasbro issued refunds, buyers had to turn to third-party sources for the limited edition pack and pay a steep surcharge. In addition, the plaintiffs alleged that Hasbro had already sent confirmations to the buyers before pulling the rug out from under them.
Hasbro and Wizards of the Coast make and sell various fantasy games, including Magic: The Gathering, Dungeons & Dragons, and the like. Magic: The Gathering is a card game that uses both real and digital cards to enact fantasy battles between two or more players. Magic games can follow various sets of rules and rare cards can be valuable during a game.
Indeed, according to court documents, Hasbro advertised the scarcity of The War of the Spark Mythic Edition pack using the following statement:
“Similar to Ravnica Allegiance Mythic Edition, War of the Spark Mythic Edition will be limited to only 12,000 units and will be available for sale on Hasbro’s eBay store starting Wednesday May 1 at 3 p.m. ET (noon PT/8 p.m. GMT). Limit 2 per person. There will be no reprints of War of the Spark Mythic Edition— once it’s gone, it’s gone.”
The advertisement allegedly caused a buying frenzy and the card pack sold rapidly.
The class action lawsuit contended that Hasbro made a binding contract with the plaintiffs and other buyers that it violated when it ran out of stock of the limited edition pack. They accused Hasbro and its subsidiary of breach of contract, good faith and fair dealing, and of negligence.
The complaint contended that Hasbro had made a binding offer to purchase the limited edition card pack at a certain price. The plaintiffs pointed to statements on the eBay website, including the “buy it now” price offered for the cards as well as terms on the website indicating that buyers enter into a “legally binding contract” when they commit to buy a product on the site.
The plaintiffs also argued that, in order for Hasbro to cancel the contract, the company had to get the permission of the buyers; instead, it unilaterally backed out of the deal.
U.S. District Judge Amy Totenberg disagreed with the plaintiffs and tossed their class action lawsuit with prejudice in a December ruling. In her order, Judge Totenberg pointed out that the terms and conditions on eBay allow sellers to cancel a transaction.
Specifically, the order pointed out that sellers, such as Hasbro and Wizards, are permitted to cancel a purchase if the item had not been sent yet, the buyer did not ask eBay for help getting items they had not received, and they had not opened an unpaid item case.
The order also addressed the class action lawsuit claims that Hasbro had entered into a binding contract with the plaintiffs and other would-be purchasers by advertising statements it made on eBay.
“Defendants’ eBay listing advertised a good to be sold to the general public, just like a traditional advertisement, circular, or catalog,” pointed out the order. “In posting the sale to the public, Defendants explicitly noted, in the previous special edition announcement and in the listing, that there was a limited quantity of the game.”
Judge Totenberg concluded that a reasonable buyer would understand from statements on eBay advertising the card pack that Hasbro was not promising to accept every offer to buy the limited edition product. Though Hasbro initially accepted the plaintiffs’ payments, said the judge, these actions occurred through eBay and not Hasbro or Wizards of the Coast.
The judge also pointed out in her order dismissing the class action lawsuit that the plaintiffs had received full refunds and not suffered any measurable damages by missing out on the limited edition cards.
Did you purchase a limited edition Magic card pack that was canceled by Hasbro? Tell us what happened in the comment section below!
The lead plaintiffs are represented by Matthew Q. Wetherington and Robert N. Friedman of Wetherington Law Firm PC.
The Magic Limited Edition Card Pack Class Action Lawsuit is Erler v. Hasbro Inc., et al., Case No. 1:19-cv-02658, in the U.S. District Court for the Northern District of George, Atlanta Division.
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One thought on Class Action Lawsuit Over Limited Edition Magic Card Dealt a Fatal Blow by Judge
I did have this happen to me and when I confronted wizards of the coast through their customer service they said that the situation was out of their hands. After much arguing and deliberation I had to miss out on the product and had the same situation happen with others.