First XLV Lawsuit Filed

Arlington officials found numerous safety problems during the construction of temporary seats at Cowboys Stadium. Then the NFL contractor walked off the job just hours before Sunday’s Super Bowl, according to Arlington Fire Chief Don Crowson.

The issues included pathways that were too narrow and questions about the structural integrity of the stands.  Crowson said the city had never experienced such safety issues during construction of temporary seating at previous Cowboys Stadium events.

Yesterday a Los Angeles-based law firm filed a lawsuit against Cowboys owner Jerry Jones, the Cowboys organization and the National Football League, accusing the defendants of fraud related to Super Bowl tickets.

The Lawsuit alleges breach of contract, fraud and deceptive sales practices on behalf of people who ended up watching the game on TV at Cowboys Stadium in Arlington, or had seats the lawsuit labeled “illegitimate.”

The NFL had announced just hours before the Green Bay Packers played the Pittsburgh Steelers on Sunday that about 1,250 temporary seats were deemed unsafe, and the league scrambled to find new seats for about 850 people. The remaining 400 were forced to watch from standing-room locations around the stadium. 

Los Angeles-based attorney Michael J. Avenatti said he expects the suit to cover about 1,000 people.

“No one is attempting to get rich from this,” he said. “People are merely interested in being compensated for what happened and the cost that goes with that.”

CBS 11, KTVT television in Dallas/Fort Worth reported on their 6 p.m. news that a second law suit has been filed against the NFL.  Apparently the second lawsuit was filed by a season ticket holder, who paid a $100,000 license fee to the Dallas Cowboys.  The lawsuit claims that the Cowboys breached the agreement with season ticket holders concerning the Super Bowl.  No further details were reported but an update was promised for the 10 p.m. newscast.