CHICAGO (Reuters) - The Cleveland Cavaliers have asked a federal judge to suspend a permanent injunction barring the National Basketball Association team from using a Ticketmaster rival's online ticket-reselling service.
The club said in a motion filed on Wednesday in a U.S. District Court in Ohio that settlement talks with Ticketmaster are at an impasse after months of protracted talks and asked the court to allow it to use Flash Seats, claiming if it could not it would lose tens of thousands of dollars as it competes in the postseason.
Ticketmaster officials were not immediately available to comment.
Judge Kathleen O'Malley ruled last fall that the Cavaliers' use of Flash Seats for the resale of Cavaliers tickets violated Ticketmaster's exclusive contract with the team. She barred use of Flash Seats on ticket resales pending an appeal by the team.
Fans can still use Flash Seats to enter the Cleveland arena or transfer tickets to other people.
Flash Seats is based in Cleveland and owned by a group led by Cavaliers owner Dan Gilbert. The team received a 16 percent commission on each Flash Seats resale, according to court documents.
The Cavaliers said in the Wednesday filing that money it loses during the injunction can never be recovered, while Ticketmaster would not suffer damages as it could recover any money lost if the team loses its appeal.
The Cavaliers asked the court to expedite the case given the team is in the NBA playoffs and stands to lose money without access to Flash Seats, according to court documents. Being able to offer the service makes the playoff tickets as well as next season's tickets more valuable, the team said in the filing.
The Cavaliers estimated losses of at least $50,000 in commissions per home playoff game, and that could top $100,000 if the team reaches the NBA championship, according to the filing. The team also estimated losses for the 2009-2010 regular season could top $1 million, according to court documents.
The case is Cavaliers Operating Company LLC v. Ticketmaster, U.S. District Court, Northern District of Ohio, No. 07-02317.
(Reporting by Ben Klayman, editing by Dave Zimmerman)
