State sues on behalf of Seahawks fans who were left without Super Bowl tickets



SEATTLE (AP) — Washington state is suing a ticket seller for taking orders for more than $149,000 in Super Bowl tickets and then telling customers at the last minute it could not fill those orders.

Washington Attorney General announced Wednesday the state had received 24 complaints about SBTickets regarding 60 tickets.

Ferguson said the New York-based company was planning on buying tickets at the last minute, in hopes of last-minute bargains, but ticket prices continued to rise until game time.

"For many people, a trip to the Super Bowl is a once-in-a-lifetime event," Ferguson said. "Because of SBTickets' deception about it's 'guaranteed' tickets, people spent their savings on a trip only to wind up watching the game at restaurants and hotels nearby."



For those who did not get their tickets, SBTickets promised refunds by Feb. 2. That also did not happen, Ferguson said.

Ferguson is asking King County Superior Court to force the company to reimburse its customers for travel and lodging costs as well as the ticket price and to pay penalties of up to $2,000 per incident.

This year's Super Bowl game between the Seattle Seahawks and the New England Patriots set records for the high cost of Super Bowl tickets in the secondary market.