The British Columbia Supreme Court approved a settlement in the class-action lawsuit against defendants Major League Soccer and the Vancouver Whitecaps that claimed both parties relied on “misleading promotional material” when selling tickets to the match against Inter Miami on May 25, 2024.
The lead plaintiff, Ho Chun, filed the claim alleging that the league and club exploited the expectation that star Inter Miami CF players like Lionel Messi, Luis Suárez, Sergio Busquets and Jordi Alba would participate in the MLS match to sell tickets.
Days before the game, however, Whitecaps CEO Axel Schuster confirmed that Messi, Suarez and Busquets would not be traveling to Canada as former head coach Gerardo Martino chose to rest the players due to calendar congestion.
With more than 50,000 fans expected to attend the game, the Whitecaps offered 50% off in-stadium food and drinks to combat frustration.
Defendants, MLS and the Vancouver Whitecaps, deny any liability and believe the claim is without merit, according to court documents. The three parties, however, began negotiations in May 2025 to avoid further litigation.
On Monday, the court ordered the defendants to collectively pay a total $450,000 Canadian ($329,000) to settle the lawsuit. According to the case documents, Major League Soccer and the Vancouver Whitecaps will pay the settlement funds, minus any amounts paid for class counsel feeds, to three parties equally: (i) KidSport BC (i.e. the British Columbia chapter of Kidsport Canada); (ii) Canada SCORES (the Vancouver General Fund); and (iii) BGC South Coast BC, as the recipients of the cy pres donation.
“Vancouver Whitecaps FC confirms that the settlement of the class action lawsuit relating to the club’s May 25, 2024, MLS regular season match against Inter Miami CF has today received approval of the British Columbia Supreme Court,” the club said in a statement to ESPN. “The settlement will be implemented in accordance with the terms in the settlement agreement.”
The settlement also claims that the Whitecaps must revise their ticketing terms, adding language to state the following information: “Ticketholder hereby recognizes and acknowledges that team rosters and player lineups are subject to change at any time prior to, or during, the Event. Ticketholder further acknowledges that Whitecaps FC cannot and does not make any representation, warranty and/or guarantee arising from or related to the participation or performance of any individual player in the Event, and Whitecaps FC hereby disclaims any and all such representations, warranties and guarantees, whether express or implied (including, but not limited to, in any advertising or promotional materials related to the Event).”
ESPN also reached out to MLS for comment.
