Obiter reported in February that entertainment giant Madison Square Garden Entertainment had exercised some fabulous pettiness by banning from its venues lawyers acting in cases against it.

The Adverse Attorney Policy stated that lawyers who had filed a lawsuit were ‘not welcome in our venues while litigation is ongoing’.

As had been predicted, the matter ended up in court this week - with both parties to the litigation claiming victory of sorts.

According to reports, Manhattan Supreme Court Justice Lyle Frank awarded lawyer Myron Rabij $662 after he was turned away from the Hulu Theater to see Ukrainian rock band Okean Elzy. The award included a $500 fine and reimbursement for the tickets. Frank said MSG had ‘knowingly violated’ the law when it turned away Rabij and his wife and friends.

But the court also dismissed a privacy claim relating to MSG’s use of facial recognition, and court reporters gleefully recounted a moment during submissions when the judge interrupted the claimants’ lawyer.

‘Your lecture at this point is at an end,’ the judge told him. ‘Thank you very much, please sit down. That concludes your argument.’

Like so many shows hosted by MSG, there will of course be an encore. The company has already promised to appeal.

Topics