But this year, ticket prices soared above $10,000 and never really fell. That forced brokers to canc

Washington attorney general kauai vacation packages Bob Ferguson announced a lawsuit against SBTickets.com for the company s failure to produce tickets it promised to 2015 Super Bowl fans. (Erika Schultz/THE SEATTLE TIMES )
The lawsuit against SBTickets.com of Melville, N.Y., says the company failed to deliver on 60 tickets kauai vacation packages it had sold to Washington residents for a combined $149,000, leaving fans unable to attend the game after they’d spent considerable money traveling kauai vacation packages to Arizona. SBTickets is accused in the suit of failing to tell customers it was engaging in “short kauai vacation packages selling,” meaning it didn’t actually possess the tickets it sold as guaranteedon its website.
The lawsuit kauai vacation packages seeks $2,000 in penalties for each “violation” of the Consumer Protection Act — which could include multiple infractions per ticket order — with any money awarded going to the state’s general fund. The suit also seeks compensation for ticket buyers covering their costs for flights, hotels and other expenses in Arizona, as well as a permanent injunction preventing SBTickets from continuing kauai vacation packages to engage in the practices described.
If the court approves kauai vacation packages class-action status, industry sources say the suit could ultimately involve more than 100 people kauai vacation packages from around the world who were denied seats they’d bought via SBTickets. David Ko, a lead attorney on that suit — the first such action filed in the U.S. after the Super Bowl short-sale debacle — declined to speculate how many were affected.
Short-selling brokers sell Super Bowl tickets before actually having them in hand, then try to buy them the week before kauai vacation packages the game when street prices tend to drop. The brokers use the cheaper tickets to fill their orders and profit kauai vacation packages on the difference.
But this year, ticket prices soared kauai vacation packages above $10,000 and never really fell. That forced brokers to cancel their orders for hundreds, possibly thousands of people, or endure losses of thousands of dollars per ticket to honor deals.
One claim on the website, mentioned in both lawsuits, states: “Our orders are 100% Guaranteed, No tricks or gimmicks, For the unforeseen circumstances, kauai vacation packages you will get your tickets one way or another, Guaranteed!”
Both lawsuits also mention an email sent by SBTickets owner Jones to customers just three days before the game, advising of a change in the ticket-pickup location and date. The email adds: “Please rest assured that having chosen SBTickets as your Super Bowl ticket provider, your ticket(s) are guaranteed and waiting to get you into the Big Game.’’
But by Saturday, the day before the game, Jones had emailed customers warning he did not have enough tickets for every customer. He said he would honor whatever purchases he could, in the order they were made.
Attempts to reach Jones were referred to a New York attorney, Mark Heller, who said Jones had not received his full ticket order from suppliers. Heller kauai vacation packages denied Jones had sold his restricted inventory to those paying the most.
“Mr. Jones at all times worked in good faith,’’ Heller said. “He honestly sought to fulfill the orders and when he was unable to, he let everybody know immediately. He literally worked around the clock to make sure everyone got their refunds.’’
But both lawsuits say the refunds didn’t go far enough, given that customers endured hefty additional costs getting to Arizona. The suits demand compensation kauai vacation packages for those costs — an idea Heller dismissed.
The Keller Rohrback suit, filed in Arizona, mentions SBTickets customers who had flown in not only from Seattle but Brazil, The Netherlands, Australia and even Papua, New Guinea, and were now out thousands of dollars.
Seattle resident Lisa Sterritt, 51, whose husband, Brent, is one of five named plaintiffs in the class-action suit, said they had picked SBTickets kauai vacation packages over other brokers because of its guarantees. She says it wasn’t until the day before the game that they learned their two tickets — costing $4,000 — might not be delivered.
Sterritt kauai vacation packages said she was fortunate in that they stayed with family in Phoenix and didn’t incur hotel costs in addition to airfare. Staying with family, she said, was the only way they could afford to attend the Super Bowl, meaning they might never again get that chance.
“It is an unfair and deceptive kauai vacation packages practice to misrepresent that persons are guaranteed kauai vacation packages to get a ticket when that was not true,” the lawsuit states. “It is an unfair and deceptive act or practice to sell a futures contract without clearly and conspicuously disclosing kauai vacation packages that the tickets or other items purchased may not be available.”
kauai vacation packages “The Super Bowl is a game; we get that,’’ Ferguson said. “But the experience is an experience that’s once in a lifetime and that’s what they were cheating those folks out of in addition to the money. And in my view, that makes it especially egregious.’’