By Bill Wichert

Law360 (April 19, 2021, 4:13 PM EDT) -- The U.S. provider of tickets to the 2021 Olympic Games in Tokyo has been slammed with a proposed class action in New Jersey federal court for allegedly refusing to provide full refunds after overseas spectators were barred due to the COVID-19 pandemic and forcing customers to release the business from liability in order to get a partial refund.

Plaintiff Suzanne Caruso on Friday said complete refunds are required under CoSport's terms and conditions, but the Garden State-based company only offered refunds of 75% if customers met a certain deadline and agreed to waive any related claims against it.

"In other words, despite their contractual, legal and ethical right to a full refund, plaintiff and other customers were forced to either forego making any request for a refund or be forced to allow CoSport to retain 25% of their money due," the three-count complaint said. "This is contrary to the customers' rights under the CoSport Terms and Conditions."

The lawsuit includes counts for breach of contract and violations of the state's Consumer Fraud Act and Truth-in-Consumer Contract, Warranty and Notice Act.

Caruso is seeking to represent a class of "all persons in the United States who purchased Tickets and Accommodation Packages from CoSport for the 2020 Tokyo Olympic Games and entered into a CoSport Terms and Conditions of Sale Agreement" substantially in the form of the agreement attached to the suit as an exhibit, according to the complaint.

CoSport, which bills itself as "the world's leading provider of Olympic Games tickets and hospitality packages," was appointed by Tokyo 2020 as the exclusive authorized ticket reseller for the U.S. and certain other countries, according to its website.

In December 2019, Caruso, a Texas resident who has attended several Olympics games in the past, bought the "Tokyo 2020 Olympic Games SS Package" from CoSport for $16,375, the complaint said. The games were ultimately postponed to the summer of 2021 due to the COVID-19 pandemic and then international spectators were barred from attending, the complaint said.

In a March 20 message to customers, CoSport said the company and "'the United States Olympic & Paralympic Committee will work with Tokyo 2020 to secure your refund based on the terms and conditions of your purchase as well as the policies and procedures Tokyo 2020 will develop and provide to us,'" the complaint said.

CoSport then "changed its tune" and rather than "making good on its prior promise to 'work with Tokyo 2020 to secure your refund based on the terms and conditions of your purchase,'" the business "offered only a refund of [75%] of the purchase price," the complaint said.

"Essentially, CoSport seeks to retain its profit from selling worthless tickets and accommodations in direct contradiction to its own contractual obligations," according to the complaint.

The company's president, Robert F. Long, addressed the 75% refund in an April 7 email to customers, saying that although the business and "'other Olympic entities encouraged the Japanese Government and organizers to refund all costs incurred by international spectators, they decided not to,'" the complaint said.

Long said customers could receive a refund "'totaling 75 percent of the cost of the package you purchased,'" the complaint said.

"'We hope you understand CoSport is unable to refund the rest. Authorized Ticket Resellers, like CoSport, provide packages that include tickets on behalf of organizing committees and National Olympic Committees to offer more-inclusive hospitality solutions to spectators. As a result, the price of packages includes the work and costs it takes to develop the program. Some of those expenditures will be lost, such as the work conducted to prepare the elements of the program, and others, such as financial transaction fees and currency conversions, will be doubled,'" Long wrote, according to the complaint.

The letter stated that customers had until April 16 to request a refund, saying the "'quick turnaround'" is "'based on the deadline Tokyo 2020 gave us to apply for the ticketing portion of your refund on your behalf,'" the complaint said.

Attached to the email was a "refund request survey" that included the following disclaimer: "'By exercising this option, I also agree to forever discharge and release CoSport and its affiliates from any and all claims arising out of or in connection with your order. You also agree you have read and understand the refund process outlined in the accompanying letter, dated April 6, 2021,'" the complaint said.

But Caruso asserted that CoSport's terms and conditions "provide that a 'full' refund will be provided if the customer's order cannot be completed."

That agreement states that "'if a Customer is actually charged by The Company for any Product(s) ... without their respective order(s) being completed as detailed above, The Company will refund Customer in full by crediting their respective Account at the earlier of either The Company detecting the error or Customer notifying The Company of the error,'" the complaint said.

The complaint called it "unconscionable for CoSport to attempt to force plaintiff and the absent class members to choose between obtaining a partial refund or no refund at all through this unfair and deceptive practice when they are clearly due to receive a full refund under the Terms and Conditions."

Counsel for Caruso and representatives of CoSport did not immediately respond to requests for comment Monday.

Caruso is represented by Jacob M. Polakoff of Berger Montague PC and Brian W. Warwick and Janet R. Varnell of Varnell & Warwick PA.

Counsel information for CoSport was not immediately available.

The case is Suzanne Caruso v. Jet Set Sports LLC, d/b/a CoSport, case number 3:21-cv-09665, in the U.S. District Court for the District of New Jersey.

--Editing by Andrew Cohen.

For a reprint of this article, please contact reprints@law360.com.