US GP class action lawsuit dismissed

The class action, which consolidated ten separate lawsuits filed against the sport's organisers, the Formula One teams, the F1 tyre companies, and the US GP hosting track, asked for punitive damages and compensation for ticket and travel costs for the thousands of fans who attended the 2005 US Grand Prix.

The race saw the seven Michelin teams withdraw their drivers from the race due to safety reasons, after no compromise could be reached with the sport's governing body to hold the race with a temporary chicane on track.

The race went ahead with only the six drivers of Ferrari, Jordan and Minardi taking the start.

Judge Sarah Evans Barker ruled there was no basis for the lawsuit, saying sports fans ought to have a reasonable expectations that participants in a sporting event could suddenly find themselves sidelined, for example suspensions in football games, or benching in basketball.

"The power to make those decisions is the implicit - perhaps even explicit - risk that sports fans assume when they buy a ticket of admission to a sporting event," Barker wrote.

"It's to be assumed that the Michelin teams made the decision they believed to be in their best competitive and professional interests, and in doing so, they owed no legal duty to let the preferences of the spectators trump their own good judgment."

The plaintiffs' representative, Indianapolis lawyer Henry J. Price, said he will appeal Barker's decision to the Court of Appeals in Chicago.

"We are very disappointed, of course," he said. "They did not comply with their advertising and did not comply with their contract under the ticket and therefore we were entitled to recover for breach of contract."

IMS and Michelin officials both expressed satisfaction with the ruling.

"Obviously, we are very pleased with the decision," IMS spokesman Ron Green said. "We are just three weeks away from the 2006 US GP and having this behind us is a huge relief."

"Michelin is very pleased with judge Barker's decision," added Michelin North America's vice president Michael Fanning.

"Michelin has always felt that our quick action to voluntarily refund all tickets to the 2005 race and to purchase 20,000 tickets to the 2006 race was the right thing to do in the interest of the fans and the sport.

"We and our partner teams now look forward to a very competitive 2006 United States Grand Prix."

The Grand Prix, which takes place on July 2nd, is the last on the current contract between IMS and Formula One Management. The future of the event thereafter remains unclear.