Astros Sued by Fans Benjamin Oehlert, Brandon Day for 2019 World Series Arrests

Benjamin Oehlert and Brandon Day, two Houston Astros fans who attended Game 7 of the 2019 World Series at Minute Maid Park, reportedly filed a lawsuit against the American League West team in a Texas state court.

Daniel Kaplan of The Athletic reported the news, noting the fans said they were arrested while they were watching the game from their seats in the stadium because their tickets were allegedly fake. Oehlert and Day said the tickets were authentic and are looking for up to $1 million each with the suit.

"We tried to work this out," attorney Brandon Kinard said. "And we reached out to the Astros multiple times by both letter and phone calls. But they never returned our letters, they never returned our calls. And so we've spelled out our claims to them before today. And they've just never responded to us. And so they basically ignored us."   

Kinard said it was "unusual for a professional company like the Astros" to not even offer a response.

Kaplan noted Oehlert and Day were taken to the "jail" in Minute Maid Park and then spent the night in a local jail. They were charged with criminal trespass, although a judge dismissed the charges.

"The lawsuit alleges malicious criminal prosecution, false imprisonment, breach of agreement, deceptive trade practices and negligence," Kaplan wrote.

It has been an offseason of lawsuits for the Astros, who have also been sued by season ticket holders, daily fantasy sports players and former Toronto Blue Jays pitcher Mike Bolsinger in regards to the sign-stealing scandal.

Houston was fined $5 million and stripped of its first- and second-round draft picks in 2020 and 2021 by the league as punishment for the sign-stealing. What's more, general manager Jeff Luhnow and manager AJ Hinch, who were both eventually fired by the Astros, were suspended for a year.

The Astros lost the Game 7 of the World Series that Oehlert and Day attended to the Washington Nationals. The road team won all seven games in the series, allowing Washington to capture its first World Series title in franchise history.