The plaintiff has been a member of a major Munich football club since July 1, 1994, and has also held a season ticket for the club's home games since then. On May 12, 2014, the club terminated the season ticket subscription. As a loyal supporter, the plaintiff attended almost all home games in the Bundesliga, the DFB Pokal, and the Champions League. During the 2013/2014 season, the plaintiff built a house for himself and his family and was therefore unable to attend 10 Bundesliga matches. However, for these games, he allowed other fans to purchase his ticket via the ticket exchange and received a pro-rata refund of the season ticket price of 8.24 Euros for each. Without any prior warning, the club terminated the season ticket subscription.
The plaintiff considers the termination an inadmissible disciplinary measure for legitimately and with good reason being unable to attend ten games.
He is filing a lawsuit against the club before the Local Court of Munich for the issuance of a season ticket for the home games in the 2014/2015 Bundesliga season.
The presiding judge ruled in favor of the club and dismissed the lawsuit.
According to Section 2 of the club's terms and conditions for the season ticket subscription, the club is entitled to an ordinary right of termination. There were no objections to this contractual provision, as the ordinary right of termination is permissible for any continuing obligation running for an indefinite period. The termination does not violate any statutory prohibition. The plaintiff did not allege discrimination or any other violation of a statutory prohibition. The right of termination does not constitute harassment or an impermissible sanction for the plaintiff's lawful conduct in transferring the season ticket, but rather an expression of the club's freedom of contract. This right of the club to determine with whom it enters into contractual relationships is also not restricted. The club does not hold a dominant market position for professional football in Bavaria, meaning there is no obligation to contract. In Munich, there is another professional football club in the second Bundesliga, and there is another South Bavarian club in the first Bundesliga. Furthermore, the plaintiff is free to attend the club's Bundesliga or Champions League matches through open sales. There is no right to a specific performance in civil law. It is part of the club's policy and freedom to determine which fans should be granted special conditions, as long as no anti-discrimination regulations are violated.
Judgment of the Munich Local Court of 18.12.14, file reference 122 C 16918/14
The judgment is legally binding.
Source: Press release of the Munich Local Court
Goldberg Attorneys 2015
Attorney Michael Ullrich, LL.M. (Information Law)
Specialist Lawyer for Information Technology Law
Email: info@goldberg.de
