A Jets fan who sued the New England Patriots on behalf of other fans has lost his case, says Reuters. The case concerned the “spygate” scandal in which the Patriots were caught videotaping the signals from the Jets’ sideline. The fan was seeking “damages of $61.6 million representing the cost of tickets for Jets-Patriots games at Giants Stadium from 2000 through 2007, covering Belichick’s tenure as coach, and wanted that sum tripled under federal racketeering laws.”

“Consumers are being taken advantage of when an organization like the Patriots engages in a systematic fraud,” said the fan, who was seeking class action status for the lawsuit.

The appeals court decided that fans only hold contractual rights to view the games, and the NFL can enforce its rules as it sees fit.

“We do not condone the conduct on the part of the Patriots and the team’s head coach, and we likewise refrain from assessing whether the NFL’s sanctions (and its alleged destruction of the videotapes themselves) were otherwise appropriate,” wrote the judge.

The decision also stated that unhappy fans were free to vent, but could not bring a legal action in a court of law over rule violations.

The fan says he plans to appeal to the Supreme Court.

Football fan loses Patriots “Spygate” lawsuit [Reuters]

Football fan loses Patriots “Spygate” lawsuit [Reuters]

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