NEW YORK — Two New York ticket-holders are taking a swing at Major League Baseball with a new lawsuit demanding refunds amid the coronavirus pandemic.
Matthew Ajzenman and Susan Terry-Bazer filed the proposed class action lawsuit in federal court in Los Angeles, saying it’s wrong for the league to “refuse to refund” tickets purchased for the 2020 season.
“Baseball fans have been held in limbo as a result of an MLB directive not to issue refunds,” the lawsuit filed Monday in the Central District of California states.
“Defendants have chosen to shift their losses to loyal fans, furthering their financial hardship,” the paperwork says.
The plaintiffs call it a “near impossibility” that the league will figure out a way to play a standard 162-game series, so withholding fan money “under the pretext of ‘postponing’ games” is laughable, they said.
“Baseball fans are stuck with expensive and unusable tickets for unplayable games in the midst of this economic crisis,” the lawsuit argues.
Opening Day of the MLB season had been scheduled to take place March 26 but was postponed until at least mid-May due to the outbreak of COVID-19.
MLB officials and the players union have reportedly explored options such as playing games without fans, possibly at one or more highly controlled, neutral sites, as they await word from the government about when the season could potentially start.
Ajzenman said he paid $317 last year to cover the first installment of his ticket plan with the Mets, which cost $1,730 in total. His plan, which he’s still paying for in installments, includes more than 20 games.
Terry-Bazer, meanwhile, said she bought six tickets to a May 9 game at Yankee Stadium between the Yankees and their rival Boston Red Sox.
The tickets, which cost a whopping $926, were a splurge so she could take her grandson to see his “favorite MLB team,” the lawsuit states.
Terry-Bazer attempted to obtain a refund from California-based Ticketmaster last month and was informed “no such refund could be offered,” according to the complaint.
MLB has not commented on the lawsuit.
The fans claim MLB’s current actions go against the Consumer Legal Remedies Act and Unfair Competition Law in California.
———
©2020 New York Daily News
Visit New York Daily News at www.nydailynews.com
Distributed by Tribune Content Agency, LLC.