AP Photo
Haas driver Kevin Magnussen, of Denmark, leaves the pits during the final practice session for the Formula One Las Vegas Grand Prix auto race, Friday, Nov. 17, 2023, in Las Vegas. (AP Photo/Darron Cummings)
Published Saturday, Nov. 18, 2023 | 12:17 p.m.
Updated Saturday, Nov. 18, 2023 | 12:20 p.m.
Dimopoulos Law Firm and co-counsel JK Legal and Consulting announced they filed a class action lawsuit Friday night against Formula One Las Vegas Grand Prix following Thursday night's practice cancellation.
The lawsuit alleges breach of contract, negligence and deceptive trade practices, according to a press release. It claims that "all individuals who purchased tickets and attended the 'Practice Run' event suffered damages"
"We will vindicate the rights of the fans that traveled great distances and paid small fortunes to attend, but were deprived of the experience," said law firm owner Steve Dimopoulos.
The first practice session Thursday night was abruptly cancelled after only 9 minutes after Ferrari driver Carlos Sainz Jr. ran over a water valve that dislodged and damaged his car when.
In a joint press release issued Friday morning, Las Vegas Grand Prix CEO Renee Wilm and Formula One CEO Stefano Domenicali said that "This has happened on occasion at other tracks at other races around the world."
Track crews went to work fixing the valve and fortifying the remainder of them by filling them with sand and asphalt, said the joint press release.
The second practice — slated to start at 12:30 a.m. — was delayed by 2.5 hours and extended to 90 minutes. But at 1:30 a.m., fans in the grandstands and hospitality areas were sent home and the second practice session proceeded at 2:30 a.m. with no viewers in attendance.
Dimopoulos alleges that affected 35,000 fans. Wilm and Domenicali said that the decision to send away fans before the second practice was made with the safety of employees and fans.
They explained that they were worried public safety officials would be affected by the later stay. Hotel shuttle drivers, who are federally required to work up to a certain number of hours, would also be coming close to their maximum threshold.
"We have all been to events like concerts, games and even other Formula 1 races, that have been cancelled because of factors like weather or technical issues," Wilm and Domenicali's press release said. "It happens, and we hope people will understand."
The joint press release made no mention of refunding fans. The Associated Press reported that fans with single-event tickets for Thursday were offered a $200 discount at the official gift shop
On the Las Vegas Grand Prix website, it does say that ticket sales may be refunded if admission is revoked or refused without cause, venues reach capacity limits that result in ticket cancellations or the event is cancelled and not rescheduled.
Dimopoulos Law Firm's press release targets that amongst other issues, saying that even if ticket prices are refunded, no offer has been made to reimburse them for other expenses such as transportation, lodging and food.
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