Court tosses Cedar Point gold pass suit

SANDUSKY — The Ohio Supreme Court overturned an appeals court decision in a case brought against Cedar Fair, L.P., in regards to the 2020 season gold passes on Thursday. Laura Valentine from Mayfield Heights sued Cedar Fair in April 2020 for breach of contract. In her suit, she asserted that she was entitled to restitution for the gold pass she purchased because Cedar Point did not open in May or June of 2020. The park did open, on a limited basis, in July 2020 under state health orders. The suit was filed in Erie County Common Pleas Court. Cedar Fair filed a motion to dismiss the case in June 2020. Judge Tygh Tone approved the motion and dismissed the case in Sept. 2020. Valentine appealed, and the appeals court reversed Tone's decision and sent the case back to his court for further proceedings. Cedar Fair then appealed to the Ohio Supreme Court. Ohio's top court voted to reverse the appeals court decision and reinstated Tone's dismissal order. As a result, the current status of the case is that it is dismissed. "Cedar Fair is pleased with the 7-0 decision by the Ohio Supreme Court and believes it is the right result," said Justin Harris, attorney for Cedar Fair. "However, due to the fact that we are currently defending similar claims in other venues, Cedar Fair cannot offer any additional comment at this time. As far as the Valentine case, the Ohio Supreme Court's decision brings that matter to its conclusion." In her suit, Valentine argued, "when a licensor revokes a purchased ticket due to no fault of the licensee, a refund of the ticket price is required," according to the Supreme Court decision. When the government-imposed lockdown made it impossible for Cedar Point to open in May 2020, the park was then in breach of a contract formed when Valentine purchased her pass, Valentine claimed. Cedar Fair countered that the season pass was not a ticket but a revocable license. The gold pass' terms and conditions state that operating dates and times could change without notice, according to court filings. Because Cedar Point did not cancel the entire 2020 season and did not revoke Valentine's season pass, Tone opined, Valentine was not entitled to relief because she had not stated a claim upon which relief could be granted. The Register reached out to 2020 gold season pass holders for their opinions. "I'm with Cedar Fair and the supreme court. (Cedar Fair) made up for it by offering the passes for 2021, too," said Jay Yount of Huron. "I, personally, didn't have a problem with them not opening due to the pandemic and was happy I was able to use my pass the next year," said Jen Oeder of Sandusky. "If the pass was never used or used less than a certain number of times, the money should be refunded," said Vicky Dunn of Sandusky. "Or (they should) give us a pass for another year." Cedar Point extended 2020 gold passes to be valid for the 2021 season as well as the 2020 season. A case similar to the Valentine suit, filed in federal court, has not yet been decided. The most recent filing in Walker v. Cedar Fair, L.P., is a status report the plaintiff filed requesting that the court, "enter a case schedule and begin discovery on Plaintiffs' consumer protection claims." In April, the federal court refused Cedar Fair's motion to dismiss the case.