How about some non-coronavirus baseball-related news? I got some for ya.
Did not age well
The Astros have asked Harris County district judges to dismiss the three lawsuits filed against the ballclub by ticketholders who claim they were defrauded by the sign-stealing scandal in 2017-18.
In each case, attorneys for the ballclub say ticketholders lack standing to file suit, that their claims against the team are barred by the statute of limitations and that plaintiffs have failed to state a claim upon which a court could grant a judgment against the Astros.
Each answer describes the Astros’ system of electronic sign-stealing as “a source of great disappointment to Astros fans as well as to the Astros organization” and notes that individual players and owner Jim Crane have offered apologies.
“There is, however, no legal standing for season ticket holders … to recover damages for their disappointment over the Astros’ performance for any of the seasons they may have been implicated in the controversy,” the filings add.
“As many courts have held, a ticket holder has only the right to enter a venue and to have a seat for the ticketed game, and cannot complain afterwards that the game should have been played differently.
“The plaintiffs here do not allege that they were deprived of those rights, and they were not. Therefore, defendants deny that the plaintiffs are entitled to any relief in a court of law.”
The Astros seek dismissal of all three lawsuits and ask that they be awarded costs for their defense.
See here for the background, and listen to this episode of Effectively Wild for actual legal analysis of these and other lawsuits related to the banging scheme. As noted in my previous post, each was filed in a different court in Harris County, which may possibly be a complicating factor. I still think these will all ultimately be dismissed, but you never know. The Astros and others still face the fantasy baseball lawsuit, which they have also moved to dismiss. Hey, I didn’t say this was baseball-content baseball news, just that it wasn’t coronavirus-related baseball news. Gotta take what you can get these days.
I didn’t listen to the Effectively Wild, but as the post states, courts have held that ticket holders have the right to attend and watch the game, and that’s it. I believe that a NY Jets fan sued the NFL because of one of the Patriots’ scandals, and that was the ruling. So if this goes to trial, there won’t be any damages awarded, in my opinion.
The implication, though, is that pro sports leagues are, according to the contract with ticket buyers, allowed to rig games. And they have no obligation to police the teams for cheating. However, it also protects the leagues from liability in the case of a blown call which happens by accident, teams resting stars before the playoffs, star players missing games due to injury, suspension, illness, etc.
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