Sonics fans sue for free OKC tickets

By Jayda Evans | The Seattle Times • Published August 20, 2008

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Sonics fans in a class-action lawsuit have asked for free tickets to the Oklahoma City NBA games to remedy the Professional Basketball Club’s contractual obligation.

The demand was filed Monday with U.S. District Judge Richard Jones in Seattle. Attorneys Mark Griffin and Frederick Schoepflin filed the opposition to the PBC’s motion for summary judgment on July 28. The filing asks for about 1,400 season tickets to be awarded over the span of two seasons.

Robert Brotherson, Patrick Sheehy and Carolyn Bechtel - members of the Emerald Club - filed the suit in November 2007, claiming that Clay Bennett’s PBC misled fans into purchasing season tickets for the 2007-08 Sonics season on the premise that the team would play two more seasons in Seattle. The fans cited a deceptive marketing plan and claim the PBC breached its contract when it failed to honor the contract and moved the team to Oklahoma City.

“(PBC) admits that a contract exists,” Griffin and Schoepflin wrote in the filing. “The key terms of the contract allowed the Plaintiffs to renew their season tickets with cost certainty and maintain their priority seat numbers. These terms are enforceable despite the Sonics’ relocation to Oklahoma City. Based on the foregoing, the Court should deny Defendant’s motion for summary judgment and enter summary judgment in favor of the Plaintiffs.”

The attorneys want the cost to be free due to the cost of traveling to Oklahoma City. The 1,387 fans who did renew their season tickets could also resell for a profit since prices are higher at the Ford Center than KeyArena.

The PBC has already begun to sell season tickets for the 2008-09 season at a cost 36 percent higher than in Seattle. The move, according to Plaintiff attorneys, showed “total disregard for its contractual obligations. That’s precisely why specific performance is being sought.”