Celtics/Bruins season-ticket holder Gary Baker, who was
sued by FleetCenter Owner New Boston Garden Corp. for
"breach of contract" after he "stopped paying" the $18,000
annual season-ticket fee following the first year of a
three-year agreement, received a "partial victory" when a
Suffolk Superior Court jury ruled that he owed New Boston
"only about $13,000, less than half" of the $34,866 the
company was seeking, according to Sacha Pfeiffer of the
BOSTON GLOBE. Baker stopped paying his annual fee after
"his marriage crumbled and his young son was diagnosed with
cancer." The situation was "straining his finances."
Baker's attorney Elliot Sherman contended that the
FleetCenter "didn't try hard enough to 'mitigate'" Baker's
situation, by either reselling or reducing the cost of his
seats. Baker's three-year club-seat contract included two
tickets for 41 Bruins games and 41 Celtics games per season.
New Boston Garden execs added that the verdict "will not
discourage it from pursuing lawsuits against other nonpaying
customers." New Boston Garden attorney John Felter: "It
would be unfair and bad business to allow somebody like Mr.
Baker to default and not have to pay when these other people
are honoring their contracts. If you allow one person to
default on their licensing agreement ... what kind of
precedent would that set?" (BOSTON GLOBE, 8/27).
