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GA Court to Rule on Suit over TV Show Interactive Element
Text messages, cell phones, TV game shows, Howie Mandel ' none of these could have been contemplated by Georgia's colonial lawmakers when they first passed a law allowing gamblers to recover their losses through lawsuits. The current version of the law, found at Georgia's Office of Contract and Grant Administration Sec.13-8-3, is at the center of a case against NBC Universal and the producer of Mandel's hit show, 'Deal or No Deal,' now being considered by the Georgia Supreme Court. Hardin v. NBC Universal, S08Q0323.
The justices have been asked to interpret Georgia law for a federal judge overseeing a case filed by a group of Columbus, GA, lawyers on behalf of a proposed class of people who participated in the 'Lucky Case Game,' an interactive feature of 'Deal or No Deal.' The plaintiffs lawyers say the game ' in which viewers, like the contestants on the show, try to pick a lucky suitcase ' ran afoul of Georgia law because participants were charged 99 cents to play through their cell phones.
NBC Universal and the other defendants say they are not obligated to return the 99-cent fees because viewers could play for free on the Internet. The defendants also argue that they weren't winners in a gambling contract. The winners, they say, were the participants who picked the right suitcase and were then chosen from a random drawing to get at least $10,000. (At press time, the 'Lucky Case Game,' according to NBC's Web site, was 'taking a short break.')
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