This is topic Lawsuits against Movie theatres in forum Ground Level at Film-Tech Forum ARCHIVE.


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Posted by Kamakshipalya Dhananjay (Member # 1391) on 12-23-2003, 06:19 AM:
 
I have read or heard little about lawsuits brought against movie theatres in the US.

Particularly, in the realm of 'negligence' or 'breach of duty' or 'standard of care' or 'tort law', anybody here know about a case or two ?

I mean cases which did proceed to trial and on which a judgement, order or decree was rendered though the case may have been appealed or otherwise dissented from in a subsequent case before a higher constitution or bench of Judges exercising powers of appellate review over the bench whose decision was dissented from.

I am curious to know if any suit was ever brought against any theatre for 'poor presentation' levels or for 'gross or negligent disregard of engineering, trade or scientific standards governing or prescribing presentation standards inside movie theatres'.
 

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Posted by Edward Jurich (Member # 1787) on 12-23-2003, 08:12 AM:
 
I don't think anyone would even think of suing a theater for poor presentation. Most people would probably just stop going to a theater that was poor and rent DVD's at home instead if that was the only option. I once got my money back, I left after a few minutes of watching a picture with the shutter out of sync and demanded my money back. Then there was the time that after 15 minutes of an out-of-focus picture, I went to the lobby and asked the kids standing around if anyone knew how to focus a projector. I got dirty looks but the picture did get focused.
 

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Posted by Richard Fowler (Member # 893) on 12-23-2003, 08:52 AM:
 
Most of the lawsuits my clients have experienced has been injury suits. One cinema we served years ago had almost weekly slip and fall accidents in their lobby which finally forced them to close ( now a performing arts center with a new lobby floor ). A circuit paid $25,000 to a customer after a ceiling tile fell on a customer during a show. There are some ADA issues regarding handicap issues that AMC and others have had to address. Presentation quality or film story quality is usually more subjective......as a former business partner when I was operating cinemas used to say, "We are always providing a fine presentation or film to the public, we personally may not agree but someone out there may like what they see.
 

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Posted by Martin Brooks (Member # 1269) on 12-23-2003, 05:31 PM:
 

quote:

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I don't think anyone would even think of suing a theater for poor presentation

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Frankly, I almost wish someone would.
 

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Posted by Steve Kraus (Member # 476) on 12-23-2003, 07:19 PM:
 
You would need to demonstrate harm otherwise your damage would only be the amount of a ticket. Unless you think you can get punitive damages to punish the theatre for foisting bad presentations on an unsuspecting public. But most probably the judge would toss it as frivolous. "You don't like it? Don't go back." would be the attitude.
 

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Posted by Gordon McLeod (Member # 33) on 12-23-2003, 08:23 PM:
 
Well considering litigulous America I guess a guy could claim he brought a new date to the movie after an expensive dinner and the performance was so bad and broke down so often she ditched him
sue for the meal
sue for the pain suffering and the loss of possible
lets go for the juggler
 

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Posted by William Hooper (Member # 71) on 12-24-2003, 12:32 AM:
 
It seems like it would be impossible, to sue for a bad show, due to the somewhat ephemeral nature of performance. Nobody promises that everyone will like the show.

On the other hand, for simply technical issues, I think that there could very easily be a good case made. Projection is technical reproduction to specified standards, & if the theatre is presenting itself as meeting those standards & knowingly &/or repeatedly does not, then it looks like fraud to me.

You could even throw out SMPTE's RP's; technical aspects of reproduction include focus, frame, "digital sound", even fidelity of analog sound reproduction, image quality when "film" is advertised & video is shown, etc.
 

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Posted by Thomas Procyk (Member # 1170) on 12-24-2003, 12:09 PM:
 
Well, I could see where damages could occur. Take a high-profile picture like Star Wars or LOTR for example.

That situation where, during one of the epic battle scenes the reel came on upside-down and the show had to be stopped for a half hour -- TWICE -- could entitle the entire audience to a nice class-action lawsuit. After all, it was an event picture that many have been anticipating for a long time and to have the presentation ruined like that could cause a lot of anguish. Not to mention not being able to re-watch it since you saw most of the movie already.

Or the situation with Star Wars Episode 1 where a theater played one of the latter reels first, ruining the outcome of a film people have been waiting for for over 10 years. Yeah, that could warrant a lawsuit.

=TMP=
 

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Posted by Dennis Benjamin (Member # 1137) on 12-26-2003, 02:51 AM:
 
Can you sue a restaurant if their food isn't just right?
 

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Posted by Leo Enticknap (Member # 534) on 12-26-2003, 08:45 AM:
 

quote:

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Well considering litigulous America I guess a guy could claim he brought a new date to the movie after an expensive dinner and the performance was so bad and broke down so often she ditched him... sue for the meal

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quote:

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Can you sue a restaurant if their food isn't just right?

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