Via App.com
NORTH BRUNSWICK – An appellate court has agreed with the dismissal of what a judge called “the most frivolous complaint I have ever seen,” a lawsuit brought by a man against Wal-Mart and Ticketmaster because he couldn’t get the Beach Boys tickets he wanted.
Edward J. Mierzwa, who represented himself, filed the suit after he went to Wal-Mart on Route 1 on Feb. 25, 2012, to use a self-service Ticketmaster kiosk to purchase Beach Boys tickets that were advertised to go on sale at 10 a.m.
At 10 a.m. exactly, Mierzwa tried to buy “reserved seats” for $153 per ticket, but according to his lawsuit, “the opportunity was squandered” because a Wal-Mart employee was not immediately available to complete the transaction.
Instead, Mierzwa was able to buy “outer perimeter” seats tickets for $91.50 at 10:04 a.m., according to court papers.
In the lawsuit, Mierzwa alleged that because no employee was available to help him, he was unable to get the seats he wanted and that was a violation of the New Jersey Consumer Fraud Act.
In tossing the complaints against Ticketmaster and Wal-Mart, the judge called it “the most frivolous complaint I have ever seen” and “patently frivolous.”
The judge said Mierzwa still received the best available seats available when the order was entered.
But Mierzwa was undeterred and filed motions to vacate the dismissal, which the judge denied, repeating that the suit was “frivolous.” Mierzwa then went to the appellate court.
In the ruling on Wednesday, the appellate court agreed with the dismissal of the suit, saying that Mierzwa failed to prove the three elements of fraud — unlawful conduct, a loss and a relationship between the unlawful conduct and the loss.
Mike Deak: 908-243-6607; mdeak@mycentral
jersey.com
