Astros ticket-holders sued for “fraud by nondisclosure, violations of the Deceptive Trade Practices Act, money had and received, and unjust enrichment/assumpsit,” and the trial court allowed the lawsuit to go forward. But the Texas Court of Appeals (in an opinion signed by Justices Wise, Bourliot, and Wilson) disagreed; from In re Houston Astros, LLC:
The plaintiffs [Astros ticket-holders] claim that the Astros misrepresented how they played the game―that they played with integrity instead of cheating. In their consolidated petition, the plaintiffs expressed their disappointment and shame over the Astros’ stealing opposing teams’ signals.
Claims based on how a sports team plays the game are not cognizable. Therefore, plaintiffs have not alleged legally cognizable claims on which they may recover damages. Furthermore, the plaintiffs cannot maintain their claims because they were only granted a revocable license to enter Minute Maid Park to watch the games in the seats for which they had purchased tickets and do not allege that they were denied those rights.
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