NEW YORK (Legal Newsline) - The Museum of Sex says a lawsuit against it is too small to be heard in federal court.
The museum filed a motion to dismiss March 7 in New York federal court in Arling Ruiz's proposed class action over fees charged to online bookers. Her suit alleges a $4 fee for those customers is unfair under the New York Arts and Cultural Affairs Law.
According to the complaint, the museum's website misleads customers by quoting a fee-less price for admission tickets, only to add a $4 service charge at checkout under the ambiguous category "taxes & fees."
The museum argues Ruiz has failed to show standing under Article III and has failed to show the amount in controversy exceeds $5 million - a threshold for federal jurisdiction under the Class Action Fairness Act.
"While the $4 service charge was not disclosed prior to Plaintiff's selection of the ticket, the complaint admits that the $4 per ticket service charge was disclosed to Ms. Ruiz on the museum's website prior to her purchase of the tickets."
The museum calls Ruiz's allegations an "informational injury" that can't satisfy standing requirements of concrete harm under Article III. And when lawyers said more than $5 million was at stake, they weren't counting $4 per person, they were hoping statutory damages of $50 penalties added up would exceed $5 million, the museum says.
Instead, the museum audited its sales during the relevant time period and found only 12,573 tickets were sold on its updated website.
David Cohen and Robert Basil of The Basil Law Group represent the defendant, while Philip L. Fraietta of Bursor & Fisher represents the plaintiff.