"Up to a week in advance"

Factual Questions
1

I’ve encountered the sentence, “Tickets may be purchased up to a week in advance.” Does this mean “up to [a week in advance]” or “[up to a week] in advance”?

In other words:

  1. Tickets may be purchased at any time, but no later than one week prior to the event."

or

  1. Tickets may be purchased, beginning one week prior to the event, until the time of the event.
2

It is #2 every time I have heard it.

3

I’m not so sure about that. I’ve registered for races where the guidelines generally say: “Runners may register for $35 *up to the day before * the race, but race day registrations will be $45”. Meaning, at any time from today through (up to ) the day before the race…

I’d interpret the OP’s question the same way- you can purchase tickets starting today, until one week before the event. [subtext- after that, there’s a blackout period for whatever reason]

4

I’d agree with Shagnasty that I think it would generally mean between the time of the event and 7 days prior, however the phrase is ambiguous so it could take either meaning. You’d either have to interpret it in context if that’s possible, ask what is meant, or guess.

5

Tickets may be purchased from 0 to 7 days prior to the event. That’s how I read it.

6

I read it as number 1.

Tangential to this, and likely only interesting to the lawyers, Congress wrote a new law (the Class Action Fairness Act, or CAFA) that permitted appeal of a remand order “not less than seven days after the order is entered.” Which seems to say that after the order is entered, you must wait at least seven days, but then you can appeal the order at any time – even ten years later!

Here’s were it gets interesting (to me): the courts that have construed this order (the Ninth and Tenth Circuits, from what I can find) have held that this language means the exact opposite: you must appeal the order within seven days of the entry of the order. Here is an article about the mess.

The consequence of it is that many lawyers have chosen to appeal CAFA remands on the seventh day after entry of the order – so that they fall within both the language of the statute and the opposing interpretation of that statute by the courts.

Thus, panache45, I would suggest you buy your tickets on the seventh day. That way you’ll be fine. :slight_smile: