United States Seventh Circuit

In plaintiffs' class action lawsuit against the National Collegiate Athletic Association (NCAA) and Ticketmaster, claiming that defendants' combined ticket-distribution scheme constituted a lottery in violation of Indiana law, defendants' petition for rehearing of the reversal of the district court's grant of their motion to dismiss, is granted, the prior opinion vacated, and three questions are certified to the Indiana Supreme Court regarding: 1) whether the plaintiffs' allegations about the NCAA's method for allocating scarce tickets to championship tournaments describe a lottery that would be unlawful under Indiana law; 2) if the plaintiffs' allegations describe an unlawful lottery, whether the NCAA's method for allocating tickets fall within the Ind. Code section 35-45-5-1(d) exception for bona fide business transactions that are valid under the law of contracts; and 3) if the plaintiffs' allegations describe an unlawful lottery, whether plaintiffs' allegations show that their claims are subject to an in pari delecto defense as described in Lesher and in Swain v. Bussell.

Appellate Information

• Argued 08/18/2010
• Decided 10/18/2010
• Published 10/18/2010

Judges

• Per Curiam

Court

• United States Seventh Circuit

Counsel