Washington Nationals class action lawsuit overview:
- Who: Plaintiff Jaymie Gustafson filed a class action lawsuit against Washington Nationals Baseball Club LLC.
- Why: Gustafson claims the Nationals charged customers junk fees for tickets to their baseball games.
- Where: The Washington Nationals class action lawsuit was filed in Washington, D.C., federal court.
A new class action lawsuit accuses the Washington Nationals of charging customers “junk fees” for tickets to their baseball games, in violation of a District of Columbia consumer protection law.
Plaintiff Jaymie Gustafson claims the Nationals falsely advertised the price of their tickets by failing to disclose the total price until after a customer had already committed to making a purchase.
Gustafson argues the Nationals charged junk fees such as “service charges,” “handling and convenience charges,” “ticket processing” charges and “order processing” charges that increased the cost of the purchase.
“The goal of the Nationals’ false advertising was to convince consumers shopping for baseball tickets that Washington Nationals tickets cost less than their actual price,” the Nationals class action lawsuit says.
Class action: Nationals charged junk fees to deceive consumers
Gustafson wants to represent a nationwide class of consumers who purchased a ticket from the Nationals at the Nationals Park Box Office, through the MLB Ballpark app or through the desktop or mobile versions of mlb.com prior to July 16, 2024, and who paid a service fee, handling and convenience fee, ticket processing fee, order processing fee and/or other similar fee to the Nationals.
The Nationals stopped charging undisclosed junk fees in July 2024 but have not refunded their fans the millions of dollars in junk fees they have been charged, Gustafson claims.
Gustafson alleges the Nationals are guilty of violating the District of Columbia Consumer Protection Procedures Act. She demands a jury trial and requests declaratory and injunctive relief and an award of treble damages, statutory damages of $1,500 per violation, punitive damages and attorneys’ fees for herself and all class members.
The Federal Trade Commission enacted a rule against junk fees in December 2024 that prohibits sellers of live-event tickets from advertising any price of a covered good or service without clearly and conspicuously disclosing the total price, according to the Nationals class action lawsuit.
Earlier in 2025, the Washington Nationals agreed to a $3 million settlement to resolve a class action lawsuit claiming the team discriminated against older fans by denying them access to a “Millennial” ticket discount.
Do you believe the Washington Nationals have ever charged you junk fees for tickets to their games? Let us know in the comments.
The plaintiff is represented by Hassan A. Zavareei and F. Peter Silva II of Tycko & Zavareei LLP.
The Washington Nationals class action lawsuit is Gustafson v. Washington Nationals Baseball Club LLC, Case No. 1:25-cv-03033, in the U.S. District Court for the District of Columbia.
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One thought on Bait-and-switch? Washington Nationals sued for advertising fake ticket prices in new class action lawsuit
Here within the last 3-4 years I’ve been purchasing my Nat’s tickets thru the National’s official website. And of course I’ve paid some of these additional fees that have been mentioned. My complaint is that National’s more or less force you to purchase tickets this way because the Stadium Box Office is ONLY open 2-3 hours prior to a home game. Back some time ago when the Nationals use to announce that single game tickets were to go on sale(usually February or March) I’d purchase them at Stadium Box Office with NO FEES. This is no way to run a Major League Baseball operation. Do you really think teams like Cubs,Yankees and Red Sox do it this way? Of course not……..