Case Note by Brandon M. Sprague
The Louisiana Supreme Court’s holding in Le Mon v. NFL, 2019-CC-1264, (La. 09/06/19); 277 So. 3d 1166 (per curiam), limits the rights of Louisiana ticketholders against ticket vendors by only allowing suits for refused admittance to or expulsion from the event. In reaching its overbroad holding, the court closed the door to other well-recognized contractual claims for ticketholders, using breach of contract for refused admittance as a gatekeeper. It expanded the limited holdings in Louisiana jurisprudence, which had distinguished Louisiana ticket law from the common law license approach but never outright rejected such an approach, to fully accepting the common law license approach to tickets. Furthermore, the court’s use of this approach as dispositive of all Le Mon’s claims, including fraud, overlooked principles of civil law contract formation that apply to all contracts under Louisiana law. Nevertheless, the court correctly granted the NFL’s exception in this specific scenario concerning a challenge to a game’s internal officiating. An individual analysis shows that a sports fan’s interest in the game does not extend as far as the game’s internal officiating. Moreover, public policy weighs in favor of limiting the rights of sports fans to challenge these calls. Ultimately, though reaching the correct conclusion in the noted case, the Louisiana Supreme Court used the wrong reasoning, which could have broader impacts on Louisiana contract law in the future.
About the Author
Brandon M. Sprague. J.D. candidate 2021, Tulane University Law School; B.A. 2019, Tulane University.
Citation
94 Tul. L. Rev. 1097 (2020)