Ticket Lawsuit

[rotogod00]

http://espn.go.com/mens-college-basketball/story/_/id/6772428/duke-blue-devils-basketball-tickets-squabble-leads-lawsuit?campaign=rss&source=NCBHeadlines

Amazing

[jimsumner]

Let's just hope Nancy Grace doesn't get wind of this.

[-bdbd]

http://espn.go.com/mens-college-basketball/story/_/id/6772428/duke-blue-devils-basketball-tickets-squabble-leads-lawsuit?campaign=rss&source=NCBHeadlines

Amazing

Geeez! Pretty sad really. I guess "splitting the baby" is just beyond these folks?? Sorry to see Duke getting dragged, unwittingly, into a silly family squabble. Embarrassing.


:(


.

[jimsumner]

The sort of thing goes on all the time with Washington Redskins season tickets. Some really messy divorces and contested wills.

Hopefully, this isn't the start of a trend.

[weezie]

Let's just hope Nancy Grace doesn't get wind of this.

Thanks Jim. Absolutely the best laugh I've had today!

[Reilly]

... Sorry to see Duke getting dragged, unwittingly, into a silly family squabble.....

.

Duke may not be getting dragged into it unwittingly -- lawsuit alleges Duke at first admitted/made a mistake. Wouldn't be the first mistake Duke has made.

Sister v. Sister: wonder if the seeds of this dispute date to some telephone or bathroom hogging 40 years ago ...

If somebody has been wronged and has no other recourse, I can easily see the lawsuit: not much more of sentimental value than b'ball tix, esp. if the passion has been shared w/ a parent. Hopefully they can come to some fair sharing that all can live with happily.

[meloveduke]

Sounds to me that the hubby to be saw a chance to have season tickets and ran with it. Eventhough he may have had no right to them..... I just hope they get it straightened out before the season starts so these seats are not up in the air and empty.

[-bdbd]

Let's just hope Nancy Grace doesn't get wind of this.

How about the front page of CNN/SI (CNN's Sports section)?? :(

http://sportsillustrated.cnn.com/2011/basketball/ncaa/wires/07/15/Duke.tickets.ap/index.html?sct=hp_t2_a10

[Devil in the Blue Dress]

This situation sounds like stories I've heard about LSU football tickets.

If it's true that the father was inappropriately influenced to sign over rights to his tickets prior to his death and was allowed access to the tickets as if in some sort of trust for the remainder of his life, then this is sleezy business..... I looked for the son-in-law in the alumni directory. He's no Dukie. Didn't find his wife in the directory either.

[Bluedog]

This situation sounds like stories I've heard about LSU football tickets.

If it's true that the father was inappropriately influenced to sign over rights to his tickets prior to his death and was allowed access to the tickets as if in some sort of trust for the remainder of his life, then this is sleezy business..... I looked for the son-in-law in the alumni directory. He's no Dukie. Didn't find his wife in the directory either.

He's in the directory under Robert Gordon Caudle (AB 1985).

[PaIronDuke]

He's in the directory under Robert Gordon Caudle (AB 1985).

May be a coincidence, but Lloyd Caudle was an outstanding defensive back in the '50's and an even more outstanding man on campus.

[BlueDevilBaby]

May be a coincidence, but Lloyd Caudle was an outstanding defensive back in the '50's and an even more outstanding man on campus.

One article says Lloyd is Robert Gordon's father. Sad business. I did probate work for a long time and am still amazed by how people act over a deceased or incapacitated individual's possessions.

[walras]

Lloyd was a longtime member of the Board of Trustees in the 1980s, so I suspect the seats are very very good ones.

[Bluedog]

Lloyd was a longtime member of the Board of Trustees in the 1980s, so I suspect the seats are very very good ones.

They are not Lloyd's seats. They are John Dolton's. You would think Lloyd's son would be able to get tickets through his family's connections and not have to resort getting them from his former father in law.

[Devil in the Blue Dress]

He's in the directory under Robert Gordon Caudle (AB 1985).

Ahhh so he is..... my reaction to the ticket "displacement" must have clouded my research.:eek:

What appears to have taken place is a most unfortunate way to go about joining a family.

[jimmymax]

Wow -- begin long sentence -- for all the crap threads that comprise most of this board that contain 100% speculation about recruit X's intentions, the number minutes player Y will get in some hypothetical starting lineup, or the huge off-season gains made by player Z that never rock the ACC as detailed, and, given the propensity for moderators to lock threads for untold, omniscient reasons, here is a bona fide reason to lock a thread: two seemingly solid Duke families are in the public eye so let's not take the Caylee Anthony path.

[moonpie23]

there's an old story about a woman sitting next to an empty seat at a clemson/carolina game (no, not the tarheel carolina)....

anyway, one of the fans nearby asked why the much coveted seat was empty and the woman said sadly, "it belongs to my late husband".......the fan immediately apologized.

a couple of plays later during a time out, the fan asked "well couldn't another member of the family have taken the seat?", to which, the woman replied, "well, they're all at the funeral".

[Devil in the Blue Dress]

there's an old story about a woman sitting next to an empty seat at a clemson/carolina game (no, not the tarheel carolina)....

anyway, one of the fans nearby asked why the much coveted seat was empty and the woman said sadly, "it belongs to my late husband".......the fan immediately apologized.

a couple of plays later during a time out, the fan asked "well couldn't another member of the family have taken the seat?", to which, the woman replied, "well, they're all at the funeral".
There's a similar story about a woman sitting next to an empty seat at an LSU game. The conversation takes place between the woman and one of the game officials. (This is an LSU story, y'all.):cool:

[devildeac]

there's an old story about a woman sitting next to an empty seat at a clemson/carolina game (no, not the tarheel carolina)....

anyway, one of the fans nearby asked why the much coveted seat was empty and the woman said sadly, "it belongs to my late husband".......the fan immediately apologized.

a couple of plays later during a time out, the fan asked "well couldn't another member of the family have taken the seat?", to which, the woman replied, "well, they're all at the funeral".


There's a similar story about a woman sitting next to an empty seat at an LSU game. The conversation takes place between the woman and one of the game officials. (This is an LSU story, y'all.):cool:

I thought it was an NHL Stanley Cup Final game involving the Montreal Canadiens;).

[DevilWearsPrada]

One article says Lloyd is Robert Gordon's father. Sad business. I did probate work for a long time and am still amazed by how people act over a deceased or incapacitated individual's possessions.

This is a sad story, that seems to be all over the internet. Making its way to SI, Herald Sun, DBR, etc.

I have experienced firsthand how people act over the deceased possessions. A good friend of mine has gone through a similar situation in his family over Duke Basketball tickets, but not to the extreme of these sisters.

[uh_no]

This is a sad story, that seems to be all over the internet. Making its way to SI, Herald Sun, DBR, etc.

I have experienced firsthand how people act over the deceased possessions. A good friend of mine has gone through a similar situation in his family over Duke Basketball tickets, but not to the extreme of these sisters.

I never figured out how people are unable to compromise....and how they are so able to do such nasty things to other people...especially relatives.

[CameronBornAndBred]

I never figured out how people are unable to compromise....and how they are so able to do such nasty things to other people...especially relatives.
I just hope that IF the sister loses her suit, then the other sister and her husband actually show up to every game and sit in those seats. If they wind up on stubhub, and it's a money grab, that would be extremely disheartening. Also, I don't know who is right or wrong here..if anyone. That is for the courts to decide. But I would feel a lot of aprehension showing up to the first game, nervous as hell at the looks I would I expect to get. Maybe that won't happen, but it would not surprise me.

[magjayran]

For the life of me I can't figure out how they can't split the tickets.

[grit74]

About 20 years ago, my ex-wife was ticked to learn that the name on the Iron Dukes roster owns the rights to seats and the benefit of all contributions. Don't know if things have changed, but there was no allowance for the ex-spouse to buy any tickets.

On the other hand, I was not displeased.

[CameronBornAndBred]

For the life of me I can't figure out how they can't split the tickets.
The guys at the doors know how..they each do it hundreds of times every game!

[Devil in the Blue Dress]

For the life of me I can't figure out how they can't split the tickets.
The two sisters aren't the lone players in this drama.

[kexman]

How do you inherit Duke seats? I'm sure it is more complicated than this, but I thought you needed to make a donation each year to the athletic department. Bigger donation...better seats. I assume if I made a larger donation I would bump current ticket holders that donated less.

I wish I had reason to worry about the particulars of the process:)

[Kimist]

How do you inherit Duke seats? I'm sure it is more complicated than this, but I thought you needed to make a donation each year to the athletic department. Bigger donation...better seats. I assume if I made a larger donation I would bump current ticket holders that donated less.

I wish I had reason to worry about the particulars of the process:)

You cannot really "inherit" tickets in the first place....

Here is how it goes with the Iron Dukes:

There is a one-time $50k transfer fee (and it must be to a qualifying family member only - friends or business acquaintances are a no go) for the specific seats, or at least the past allocation for those specific seats. If a person goes that route, they then have to pay the existing stadium level price ($7k now) each year thereafter AND pay the season ticket costs which are likely in the $60/seat/game range now.

Reading through the fog, for any allowable transfer there is the $50k fee plus the existing "stadium level" price for the first year and then each succeeding year. That price is $7k for the upcoming season. The actual ticket costs are always separate, although you can then buy them at "face value.";) If the original ticket holder had been donating less, due to grandfathering of required donations for some long-term members of the Iron Dukes, that cost benefit simply cannot be transferred under any circumstances.

As others have noted, the losing party in a divorce scenario (especially if the membership was in the name of one spouse only) gets no consideration other than he/she can choose to join and start at whatever the existing stadium level is for ticket consideration. I imagine the divorce lawyers could make some coinage resolving such conflicts.

The issue at hand here is not so much that Duke did anything wrong (other than perhaps due diligence?) but rather the "claim" to the transferred seats may have been inappropriately made in the first place.

Also, FWIW, I don't see any reason this discussion should be locked. There just might be nuggets of useful information posted by the readers.

Just my 2¢ worth...

k

[Devil in the Blue Dress]

You cannot really "inherit" tickets in the first place....

Here is how it goes with the Iron Dukes:

There is a one-time $50k transfer fee (and it must be to a qualifying family member only - friends or business acquaintances are a no go) for the specific seats, or at least the past allocation for those specific seats. If a person goes that route, they then have to pay the existing stadium level price ($7k now) each year thereafter AND pay the season ticket costs which are likely in the $60/seat/game range now.

Reading through the fog, for any allowable transfer there is the $50k fee plus the existing "stadium level" price for the first year and then each succeeding year. That price is $7k for the upcoming season. The actual ticket costs are always separate, although you can then buy them at "face value.";) If the original ticket holder had been donating less, due to grandfathering of required donations for some long-term members of the Iron Dukes, that cost benefit simply cannot be transferred under any circumstances.

As others have noted, the losing party in a divorce scenario (especially if the membership was in the name of one spouse only) gets no consideration other than he/she can choose to join and start at whatever the existing stadium level is for ticket consideration. I imagine the divorce lawyers could make some coinage resolving such conflicts.

The issue at hand here is not so much that Duke did anything wrong (other than perhaps due diligence?) but rather the "claim" to the transferred seats may have been inappropriately made in the first place.

Also, FWIW, I don't see any reason this discussion should be locked. There just might be nuggets of useful information posted by the readers.

Just my 2¢ worth...

k

This is the best overview of the Iron Duke ticket transfer policy and the central issue of this dispute that I've seen so far. It will be interesting to see how the events and time line are dealt with in the adjudication of this suit.

[Raleighfan]

there's an old story about a woman sitting next to an empty seat at a clemson/carolina game (no, not the tarheel carolina)....

anyway, one of the fans nearby asked why the much coveted seat was empty and the woman said sadly, "it belongs to my late husband".......the fan immediately apologized.

a couple of plays later during a time out, the fan asked "well couldn't another member of the family have taken the seat?", to which, the woman replied, "well, they're all at the funeral".

I've heard this same old goodie except that the woman was a Kentucky fan. Guess you can insert any school you want into the telling.

[jimsumner]

I've heard this same old goodie except that the woman was a Kentucky fan. Guess you can insert any school you want into the telling.

The variation I've heard has a golf angle.

Man is playing his regular Saturday foursome.

Funeral procession goes by on the highway.

Man stops playing, stand still and places his hand on his heart.

Playing partner compliments him on his sensitivity.

Man responds, "well, we would have been married 30 years next week."

[DevilWearsPrada]

The guys at the doors know how..they each do it hundreds of times every game!

The guys at the door, split 1000s of tickets each game!

You would think the 2 sisters could compromise, and share the tickets between them. If there are 20 games, do a 10 game split. Or either, give 1 season pass to one sister, and the other season pass to the second sister.

Those 2 seats, best be filled by those sisters, or immediate family members each and every game. Not filled by the largest bidder off of StubHub or Craigslist. (or by a Tarheel fan during the Duke/Unc game!).

It is very sad that these two sisters are hashing this Ticket situation in public court and it has made its way online in various media outlets. In my opinion, these Sisters need a DR PHIL intervention. Obviously, there are much deeper issues with the siblings, than the Duke Basketball Tickets. IMO.

[brianl]

In an effort to be helpful, I'd be willing to sit in the seats and keep them warm until this matter is resolved in the courts.

[jimsumner]

I believe it was Tolstoy who wrote that all happy families were alike but all unhappy families were unhappy in their own way.

But he probably didn't have this in mind.

[meloveduke]

In an effort to be helpful, I'd be willing to sit in the seats and keep them warm until this matter is resolved in the courts.

I am happy to help at not charge, lets face it your only one man and there are two seats...

[devilirium]

the 50 K transfer fee...that seems a bit extreme

[uh_no]

the 50 K transfer fee...that seems a bit extreme

supply and demand...if you don't want to pay 50k to transfer, there's someone out there who will pay 60k to get the tickets