Copa America fans file lawsuits against organizers after chaotic finale

MIAMI, July 19 (UPI) -- Angry ticketholders have filed several lawsuits in federal and circuit courts against Copa America organizers, alleging they were denied entry to the soccer finale Sunday at Hard Rock Stadium in Miami Gardens, Fla.

In all, the lawsuits seek millions of dollars in damages for alleged negligence in maintaining crowd control, which allowed many fans without tickets to enter the venue, while many others with tickets were denied entry. Some of the suits cite injuries, as well.

Dallas resident Das Nobel was listed as the lead plaintiff in a filing Friday in the U.S. District Court for the Southern District of Florida. Nobel's lawsuit seeks class-action status, meaning many more fans could join the suit if the judge grants such status.

The suit was filed against South Florida Stadium (operators of Hard Rock Stadium), CONMEBOL (South American Football Federation), Concacaf (Confederation of North, Central American and Caribbean Association Football) and BEST Crowd Management Inc.

"It's been overwhelming," attorney Irwin Ast of the Ast Law Firm, who is co-counsel on the complaint, told UPI. "I talk to these people and it's so emotional for them. It was really traumatic. They're just telling me just crazy stories."

A Hard Rock Stadium official said Friday that "fans who purchased tickets on the primary market and were denied entry to the match are encouraged to reach out to Ticketmaster to request a refund."

The official said those who purchased tickets on the secondary market should direct refund requests to those companies.

Neither CONMEBOL nor Concacaf responded when asked for comment on the litigation. On Monday, CONMEBOL said it was " subject to the decisions made by the Hard Rock Stadium authorities" and cited "contractual responsibilities."

The matchup between Argentina and Colombia was marred by an ugly start.

Fans clad in yellow and blue team colors packed tightly into queues outside entry gates, exchanging pushes and crying. Some collapsed from heat exhaustion, while others -- many without tickets -- fought with security officers, climbed the stadium walls, entered air vents and caused major damage to the facility , officials said.

Security eventually allowed the crowd through in what was described as an attempt to "prevent stampedes and serious injury." Gates were later closed off, denying entry for some fans who purchased the pricy tickets .

At least five of those fans sued organizers earlier this week in the Miami-Dade County Circuit Court. Lawyers for the plaintiffs say they've been contacted by about a dozen families also impacted by the incident.

The federal complaint that seeks class-action status wants inclusion of fans who paid money to attend the the match, but were denied entry.

The suit contends that the defendants' "failure to implement adequate security protocols that resulted in mass chaos, injuries and ultimately, the defendants' decision to open the stadium to thousands of unticketed fans and to exclude ticketed invitee fans like [Das Nobel] and the class members."

That suit does not seek personal injury-related damages. The complaint notes, though that organizers' decisions "allowed civil unrest," and it cited instances of failures to implement safety and security plans, not hiring enough security personnel, failure to predict the scale of unticketed attendees and permitting watch parties outside stadium.

The complaint states that Nobel bought four tickets for the match, totaling $9,948.96, in addition to nearly $15,000 spent on travel and lodging.

Nobel claimed that he approached the entry gates with his family and found them shut and locked. He said he waited outside with his family, among other fans, before they left the stadium and watched the game at their hotel.

Ast said some of his clients told him alcohol sales were allowed outside the stadium and unchecked bags were allowed into the facility as a result of the entry-point chaos.

The five plaintiffs who sued organizers earlier this week are not currently part of the lawsuit that seeks a class action.

Jacqueline Martinez filed suit Monday, a day after "unruly fans without tickets" attempted to "overpower security and law enforcement personnel" at entry points to the facility, Hard Rock Stadium said in a statement early Monday morning.

Footage from the scene showed fans fighting with police officers, breaking barricades, climbing into the stadium and causing damage to the property. More than two dozen people were arrested , while 55 were ejected from the stadium, Miami-Dade police said.

Organizers, law enforcement officials and the host postponed the start of the match by more than an hour.

Martinez's lawsuit says she purchased four tickets, totaling $4,395. She claims that she presented those tickets, was denied entry and unable to attend, resulting in "monetary loss, emotional distress and other damages."

"The unlawful entry of individuals into the arena was a foreseeable consequence of the defendant's failure to implement adequate crowd control measures, security protocols and ticket verification processes," her lawsuit states.

The filing -- which includes receipts for the tickets -- alleges that the defendants violated Florida's Deceptive and Unfair Trade Practices Act, in addition to other violations of law.

Three more ticketholders, Marta Pintos, Eduardo Martinez and Nicolas Osorio, sued organizers Wednesday. They claim they presented valid tickets and were denied entry due to the "large number of individuals rushing the arena and entering unlawfully.

Another ticketholder, Isabel Quintero, sued organizers Thursday in circuit court.

Her filing said that she was "denied entry, pushed, trampled and slammed into objects" as a result of the defendants "complete disregard for safety of its invitees."

She claims she sustained "severe injuries as a result" of the "complete lack of training, preparation and/or safety protocol" from employees, staff, agents and security" at the event.

"Our client [Quintero] was close to the front, and as they started to let one-by-one people in, she got to where the turnstiles were, and the weight of probably thousands of people behind her, pushing on her, slammed her into the turnstiles, and she actually flipped over the turnstile," said attorney Judd Rosen, of Goldberg & Rosen, P.A.,

Quintero, who spent $3,000 on tickets, was treated at an urgent care center and has not returned to work since the incident, her lawyer said. She had gone to the game with her father, who flew in from Colombia.

"It just really tarnished the memory that she was trying to build with her father," said attorney Khristopher R. Salado, who is with the same firm.