The Dallas Cowboys are no longer co-defendants in the federal lawsuit over seating troubles at Super Bowl XLV in Arlington, Texas. U.S. District Judge Barbara Lynn removed the team but left the National Football League as a defendent, the Dallas Morning News reported on Thursday.
About 1,250 temporary seats at Cowboys Stadium in Arlington, Texas, were deemed unsafe just hours before the Feb. 6, 2011 game between the Green Bay Packers and Pittsburgh Steelers. That forced about 850 ticket holders to move to new seats and 400 others to watch the game from standing-room locations.
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Lynn noted that the tickets were a contract between the buyers and the NFL, and not the Cowboys.
The Cowboys referred all questions to the NFL.
"The court's ruling threw out all claims brought on behalf of those fans who were eligible for the NFL's voluntary reimbursement offers except for a breach of contract claim," the league said in a statement. "We continue to believe that the offers made to these ticketholders meet or exceed what they could be entitled to under the law. In fact, the vast majority of these fans accepted the NFL's offers long ago."
The plaintiffs' lead attorney, Michael Avenatti, praised part of the ruling.
"The court rejected the NFL's argument that there is no legitimate claim that the NFL committed fraud against any of its fans," he wrote. "We look forward to presenting extensive evidence of the NFL's fraud against its fans, and its breach of contract with the fans, to a jury. The law is clear, you cannot sell seats that do not exist nor can you defraud your fans by selling them first-class seats when you know those seats are in reality located behind concrete pillars and posts."
