Attorney General Miyares Secures $1.3 Million Settlement with Washington Commanders Over Unreturned Ticket Deposits

In a significant development, Attorney General Jason Miyares has announced a $1.3 million settlement with Pro-Football LLC, the current owner of the Washington Commanders, to address the team’s failure to return ticket deposits to season ticket holders. This settlement comes after a detailed investigation on April 25, 2022, uncovering that the Commanders had unlawfully retained security deposits from their fans.

Over $600,000 in security deposits have been returned to approximately 475 season ticket holders, thanks to the Attorney General’s efforts. In addition, the team has agreed to pay $700,000 in penalties and costs to resolve the investigation.

“I am pleased that we were able to reach a fair and reasonable agreement with the Washington Commanders that requires restitution of unlawfully retained security deposits to consumers,” said Attorney General Miyares. “Our investigation found that the Commanders’ prior ownership unlawfully retained security deposits for years after they should have been returned to consumers. I thank the team’s current ownership for cooperating with this investigation and working to rectify the consumer harm we identified.”

The investigation revealed that since at least 1997, the Washington Commanders had entered long-term contracts with season ticket holders, which required some to pay refundable security deposits. However, despite contractual obligations to return these deposits within thirty days of the contract’s expiration, the team unlawfully retained significant sums, often imposing additional conditions on consumers seeking refunds.

In a further revelation, it was found that in 2014, the team had sent approximately 650 form letters to former season ticket holders with unrefunded security deposits on file, claiming it would remit unclaimed funds to state unclaimed property offices. Despite this commitment, no such remittance occurred until at least 2023.

The settlement outlines several measures to protect consumers:

• Compliance with the Virginia Consumer Protection Act to ensure future protections in consumer transactions.
• Efforts to refund all remaining security deposits on dormant accounts to consumers or remit them to state unclaimed property departments per state law.
• For all security deposits presently on file related to active accounts, the Commanders agree to refund these deposits within thirty days of contract expiration and to send yearly reminders to consumers about their existing security deposits.
• Payment of $600,000 in civil penalties to the Commonwealth.
• Reimbursement of $100,000 to the Virginia Office of the Attorney General for investigation costs.

As an assurance of voluntary compliance, the Loudoun County Circuit Court has filed the settlement for approval. This agreement marks a significant step towards ensuring that the rights and funds of consumers are protected, setting a precedent for similar cases in the future.