A father from Long Island has filed a lawsuit against Hofstra University, challenging unexpected ticket fees that emerged while purchasing seats for a basketball game. Among these was an unexplained $2.08 “per-ticket” charge.
Dominick Serra encountered a $5 processing fee and the “per-ticket” surcharge only as he finalized his purchase of two $12 tickets for a January women’s basketball game between Hofstra and Stony Brook, according to the lawsuit.
Serra, a resident of Stony Brook, was taken aback by the $7.08 in undisclosed expenses when he bought the tickets in person for himself and his 7-year-old daughter just before the game, as outlined in the lawsuit filed last week in Nassau County court.
“We’re all familiar with the unsettling feeling of being deceived or misled when buying products and services,” stated Serra’s attorney, Michael Sampson, in the legal complaint.
“This is precisely why the term ‘junk fees’ was introduced by the Consumer Financial Protection Bureau,” he further explained.
Sampson emphasized that his client, a dedicated sports enthusiast, is genuinely aggrieved and not merely seeking to target a rival university due to local affiliations.
New York’s 2022 Ticketing Law, which requires venues to disclose the total cost of a ticket — fees included — before a customer selects their seat, according to the suit.
But the suit claims Hofstra charges a mandatory $5 processing fee for all ticket purchases and a variable per-ticket fee on every individual admissions sale, neither of which is disclosed until checkout.
“It is only after the individual has selected the desired event/seat(s)/price that these additional fees are quantified and added to the total price of the sale,” Sampson wrote.
“In fact, it is only at this advanced stage of the purchase process that Hofstra even discloses – for the first time – that it will charge the individual any fees,” he said, calling it a “disingenuous approach.”
The suit is seeking class-action status.
Lawsuit documents estimate the class action could mean as much as hundreds of thousands of dollars in overcharges based on attendance records showing more than 30,000 fans attended Hofstra’s 13 home men’s basketball games in the 2022-23 season.
Serra is asking a judge to reimburse the fees and pay “actual damages,” treble damages and attorneys’ fees. The suit is also asking the court to declare Hofstra’s ticketing practices unlawful and order them to stop the practice entirely.
