Cavaliers Lose 'FlashSeats' Court Dispute With Ticketmaster

The Cavaliers already have a loss this season, in the court, not on the court.  The team had been in a dispute with Ticketmaster over it's 'FlashSeats' program, a website that allowed the team's season ticket holders to re-sell tickets they weren't going to use, which included a fee that was paid to the team.  According to the report -- 

A federal judge ruled that the Cavaliers must stop allowing season ticketholders to resell tickets through the Flash Seats Web site because it violates the team's contract with Ticketmaster Inc.

U.S. District Judge Kathleen M. O'Malley sided with West Hollywood, Calif.-based Ticketmaster's claim that its primary-ticketing contract with the Cavaliers gave it exclusive rights to handle all the team's ticket sales. O'Malley made the ruling Tuesday and will decide on damages later.

Primary ticketing involves tickets sold from a team to a consumer. Secondary ticketing is the resale of tickets by a consumer or broker.

The Cavaliers are owned by Dan Gilbert, who is also the principal owner of Flash Seats. Cavaliers President Len Komoroski said the organization respects the judge's decision but was disappointed.

"We're currently considering our legal position and options for the future and look forward to continuing our relationship with Flash Seats, just as soon as our agreement with Ticketmaster comes to a close," Komoroski said in a statement.

The Cavaliers' contract with Ticketmaster expires in July 2010, according to a court document.

The team will continue to use Flash Seats to allow fans to transfer tickets to other fans at no charge. The judge did not rule on the Cavaliers and Flash Seats' antitrust claim against Ticketmaster.

Personally, while I don't like Ticketmaster, I see it as a bit of overkill that the team gets paid for the tickets originially, then makes some more when the tickets are re-sold.  Using FlashSeats this season for free will be a nice change!