The Miami Herald reports that 47 year-old Port St. Lucie resident David Chojnowski is suing the Miami Marlins in small claims court for what he says what a deceitful ticket transaction.
The 88th annual Major League Baseball All-Star game was hosted this year by the team at Marlins Park in Miami, Florida. Floridian resident Chojnowski- a fan of baseball but not of the Marlins in particular- contacted the team about purchasing tickets to the All-Star Game as well as the annual Home Run Derby that takes place the day before. He says that despite many attempts to buy tickets to these baseball events alone, five different salespeople informed him that in order to attend the All-Star Game, he would need to purchase a full 20-game package.
Chojnowski says he was repeatedly assured that tickets to the All-Star Game would not at any point go on sale to the general public. Desperate to see the Home Run Derby and All-Star Game hosted in his home state, he bought two regular season packages for $1,240 apiece, which allowed him to then purchase his desired All-Star Game tickets at $275 each and Home Run Derby passes at $250 each.
“They wouldn’t sell me just home run derby tickets,” he told The Herald. “I had to take all or nothing.”
Later that summer, Chojnowski came across single game tickets for the All-Star Game and the Home Run Derby available for purchase online to the general public.
“I was furious,” he says. “I felt, and I still feel, ripped off.”
The Florida resident says he tried to contact the Marlins ticket office to no avail before resulting to the legal route. Chojnowski is representing himself and is asking the Miami Marlins to reimburse him $2,480- the price of the two 20-game packages he says he was told were necessary to purchase to gain access to All-Star and Derby tickets.
“My only choice was to sue,” Chojnowski says. “And I have a gut feeling that if I win, there’s going to be plenty of fans who’ll sue them, too.”
