Class action lawsuit filed after chaos at Copa America final at Hard Rock Stadium – NBC 6 South Florida

More lawsuits have been filed in connection with the chaos at Sunday’s Copa America final at Hard Rock Stadium in Miami Gardens.

More than two dozen people were arrested and the match between Argentina and Colombia was halted for over an hour when out-of-control crowds broke through the stadium’s security gates.

A class action lawsuit was filed Friday against Hard Rock Stadium and soccer organizations CONMEBOL and CONCACAF on behalf of Das Nobel and other fans who were denied entry to the game.

“This lawsuit seeks compensation for a group of invited fans who paid money to attend the Copa America final between Argentina and Colombia (“Final Match”) at Hard Rock Stadium, but were denied admission because of Defendants’ failure to implement adequate safety protocols, resulting in mass chaos and injuries, and ultimately Defendants’ decision to open the stadium to thousands of unticketed fans and exclude invited ticketed fans such as Plaintiff and members of the group,” the lawsuit states.

Nobel spoke to NBC6 after the game and said he traveled with his family from Dallas to Miami and spent about $7,000 on tickets.

“And we saw hundreds of other families with children standing there without tickets. And we saw multiple people being let in without going through security, let alone ticket inspection. That put a lot of people in the stadium at risk,” Nobel said.

Another lawsuit filed on Wednesday alleges on behalf of three people that they were denied entry to the event despite having valid tickets when a large crowd stormed the venue.

The plaintiffs – Marta Pintos, Eduardo Martinez and Nicolas Osorio – have filed suit against Hard Rock Stadium and CONMEBOL, claiming they have suffered financial loss, emotional distress and other damages.

“The unauthorized entry of individuals into the arena was a foreseeable consequence of the defendants’ failure to implement adequate crowd control measures, security protocols and ticket verification processes,” the lawsuit states.

A similar lawsuit was filed on Monday by fan Jackie Martinez against the stadium and CONMEBOL.

“The defendants failed to provide a safe environment for ticket holders and thereby engaged in deceptive and unfair business practices,” Martinez’s lawsuit states.

Some of Miami-Dade’s top politicians are looking for an explanation for what happened at the Copa America final at Hard Rock Stadium. Steve Litz of NBC6

On Thursday, Isabel Quintero filed another lawsuit, claiming she “suffered serious injuries” when she was denied entry to the game and was “pushed, trampled and thrown against objects due to the defendant’s total disregard for the safety of the invited guests.”

All individual lawsuits seek damages in excess of $50,000.

CONMEBOL released a statement on Friday regarding refunds to fans.

“Fans who purchased tickets on the primary market and were denied entry to the game are asked to contact Ticketmaster and request a refund. Ticketmaster will review the claim and communicate next steps to the customer,” the statement said. “Fans who purchased tickets on the secondary market should direct their refund request to the entity from which they purchased.”

In a statement released on the day of the game, Hard Rock Stadium officials wrote that they would “work with CONMEBOL to resolve individual concerns.”

But CONMEBOL pointed the finger at Hard Rock Stadium in a recent statement, saying, among other things, that it was “subject to the decision of the Hard Rock Stadium authorities” and that the recommendations given to the Hard Rock authorities regarding preparation “had not been taken into account”.

Hard Rock Stadium officials denied these allegations in a statement released Tuesday, writing that they had implemented and exceeded CONMEBOL’s safety recommendations.