Here's One for the "Plan B" Bar Association

Movies, books, music, and all the arts go here.
Give us your recommendations and reviews.
Post Reply
User avatar
Bicycle Bill
Posts: 9015
Joined: Thu Dec 03, 2015 1:10 pm
Location: Surrounded by Trumptards in Rockland, WI – a small rural village in La Crosse County

Here's One for the "Plan B" Bar Association

Post by Bicycle Bill »

Pete Davidson Sends Fans NDA (non-disclosure agreement) With $1 Million Fine Ahead Of Comedy Show
Fans planning to attend a recent Pete Davidson comedy show got an unexpected surprise — a non-disclosure agreement with a $1 million fine.  The comedian’s team required attendees to sign the NDA before entering the Bay Area venue where the Saturday Night Live cast member performed earlier this week.  In addition to signing the agreement, attendees were asked to put their phones and smartwatches in secure pouches for the duration of the show — a practice that is becoming more common.

Still, the NDA angered some fans after they bought tickets to Davidson’s November 27 show at the Sydney Goldstein Theater in San Francisco.

Attendee Stacy Young posted a copy of the NDA she received on Facebook, saying she was notified about the agreement at the last minute via an email.  The document stated that attendees “shall not give any interviews, offer any opinions or critiques, or otherwise participate in any form whatsoever (including but not limited to blogs, Twitter, Facebook, Instagram or any other social networking)… in the disclosure of any confidential information.”  The NDA noted any breach of the agreement would result in a demand for $1 million “as well as any attorney fees.”

Along with providing a signature, attendees were required to provide their cell phone numbers, email address, Twitter and Instagram handles.

A Sydney Goldstein Theater employee told the San Francisco Chronicle the venue was unaware of the NDA until the day before the show.
I ask the group of posters here who have first-hand legal knowledge — is something like this even enforceable unless it is clearly specified on the ticket (or the ticket sales site) AT THE TIME OF PURCHASE?  And even if it HAD been disclosed in advance, in this day and age of security breaches on an almost daily basis, can someone legally demand that you provide information such as an email address or cell-phone number?

And this bullshit about agreeing to not "give any interviews, offer any opinions or critiques, or otherwise participate ... in the disclosure of any confidential information"?  WHAT 'confidential information'?  We're talking about a comedy act here, not something important like the nuclear codes or the schematics for next year's new iPhone!!

Sorry, Mr. (supposedly) funny man Davidson, even though Trump is running the place like his own personal fiefdom, this is still America and he hasn't yet been able to scratch out the part of the Constitution that gives one the right of free speech.  And neither have you.

As far as banning the cellphones and smart watches, I definitely say go for that, however.  When I go to a concert or a performance or even a ball game, I want to see the performers/players with my own eyes, not through the damned cellphone of the guy standing in front oh me trying to record the whole thing.
Image
-"BB"-
Yes, I suppose I could agree with you ... but then we'd both be wrong, wouldn't we?

User avatar
Joe Guy
Posts: 13925
Joined: Fri Apr 09, 2010 2:40 pm
Location: Redweird City, California

Re: Here's One for the "Plan B" Bar Association

Post by Joe Guy »

It sounds to me like people didn't get the joke.

User avatar
RayThom
Posts: 8604
Joined: Wed Mar 14, 2012 4:38 pm
Location: Longwood Gardens PA 19348

Here's One for the "Plan B" Bar Association

Post by RayThom »

Great shades of P.T. Barnum. Davidson would not have enough money to defend this in court if he were serious.

That's one of the funniest "caveat emptors" I've ever heard.

I fear way too many people missed its not-so-subtle humor. No one fell for this so far, I would assume, right?
Image
“In a world whose absurdity appears to be so impenetrable, we simply must reach a greater degree of understanding among us, a greater sincerity.” 

User avatar
Scooter
Posts: 16540
Joined: Thu Apr 15, 2010 6:04 pm
Location: Toronto, ON

Re: Here's One for the "Plan B" Bar Association

Post by Scooter »

It seems to be being taken seriously, and he has been doing it for performances going back at least a month, so if it was meant to be a "joke", it was incredibly poorly executed.
"If you don't have a seat at the table, you're on the menu."

-- Author unknown

User avatar
RayThom
Posts: 8604
Joined: Wed Mar 14, 2012 4:38 pm
Location: Longwood Gardens PA 19348

Here's One for the "Plan B" Bar Association

Post by RayThom »

Scooter wrote:It seems to be being taken seriously, and he has been doing it for performances going back at least a month, so if it was meant to be a "joke", it was incredibly poorly executed.
Furthermore, an audience paying money to some entertainer who then has the potential of slapping a lawsuit on members of that audience? Get real.

I like Davidson's goofy/strange variety of humor but if I bought a ticket to see him with an NDA proviso I'd call up the local news channel and retell anything I was asked about. I could surely use the money from my counter suit.
Image
“In a world whose absurdity appears to be so impenetrable, we simply must reach a greater degree of understanding among us, a greater sincerity.” 

User avatar
BoSoxGal
Posts: 18299
Joined: Tue Apr 06, 2010 10:36 pm
Location: The Heart of Red Sox Nation

Re: Here's One for the "Plan B" Bar Association

Post by BoSoxGal »

1st Amendment guarantees the right of the individual to freedom of speech without government interference - it doesn’t mean people can’t engage in private contracts imposing limits on their own speech. Nobody has an inherent right to observe a comedy act. The limits of private contracts are always open to challenge in the courts - keeps the members of the bar employed. As with all good legal advice, the answer is, ‘it depends’.
For me, it is far better to grasp the Universe as it really is than to persist in delusion, however satisfying and reassuring.
~ Carl Sagan

User avatar
Sue U
Posts: 8545
Joined: Thu Apr 15, 2010 4:59 pm
Location: Eastern Megalopolis, North America (Midtown)

Re: Here's One for the "Plan B" Bar Association

Post by Sue U »

BoSoxGal wrote:1st Amendment guarantees the right of the individual to freedom of speech without government interference - it doesn’t mean people can’t engage in private contracts imposing limits on their own speech. Nobody has an inherent right to observe a comedy act. The limits of private contracts are always open to challenge in the courts - keeps the members of the bar employed. As with all good legal advice, the answer is, ‘it depends’.
True enough, but in this case the NDA was demanded after the sale & purchase of the right to admission was already completed, so there was no actual consideration to support the purported NDA contract -- a classic contracts fail. Case dismissed.
GAH!

User avatar
BoSoxGal
Posts: 18299
Joined: Tue Apr 06, 2010 10:36 pm
Location: The Heart of Red Sox Nation

Re: Here's One for the "Plan B" Bar Association

Post by BoSoxGal »

Yes, of course. My response was more general than to the specific facts in the quoted text of the OP. Obviously absent an opportunity to obtain a refund and refuse the NDA, Davidson’s demands are unenforceable.
For me, it is far better to grasp the Universe as it really is than to persist in delusion, however satisfying and reassuring.
~ Carl Sagan

Big RR
Posts: 14050
Joined: Thu Apr 15, 2010 9:47 pm

Re: Here's One for the "Plan B" Bar Association

Post by Big RR »

The only thing I would add is that we would need to see the terms and conditions of the tickets, and whether it permitted the issuer to unilaterally modify the terms of the contract. This may not be enforceable, but there are contract cases in which a sales contract incorporates certain terms and conditions available online "which may be amended from time to time" in which the court has held the buyer subject to the amended T&Cs (even though the amendment occurred after the contract was entered into). This is different, because they are requiring a signed NDA, but it could be enforced by a court. Also, it would be interesting to see if the ticket T&Cs provided for any similar non disclosure restraints on the Buyer, and then the Seller maintained that the NDA was just a request that the Buyer assure that (s)he would conform with those terms (providing such assurances is often boilerplate in many contracts).

FWIW, I agree that it is probably unenforceable, and even if any of the above applied I think it is likely that a court would hold it unenforceable absent the signing of the NDA at the time of purchase, but it would be fun to argue the other side.

User avatar
Sue U
Posts: 8545
Joined: Thu Apr 15, 2010 4:59 pm
Location: Eastern Megalopolis, North America (Midtown)

Re: Here's One for the "Plan B" Bar Association

Post by Sue U »

Oh I wasn't criticizing, BSG, you were absolutely right: "The limits of private contracts are always open to challenge in the courts - keeps the members of the bar employed." To your point: A few weeks ago I tried the dumbest contract case ever involving purchase and sale of a deli. The buyer (who really just didn't want to make the last "balloon" payment on the sale) claimed the seller breached the contract of sale because a refrigerator unit had to be replaced six months later, arguing the contract created a six-year (or, alternatively, unlimited) warranty as to the store's equipment. Contract clearly guaranteed only that equipment was operational on date of sale, but his attorney had some cockamamie theory about how to read the contract. I've been a plaintiffs attorney for over 25 years and I've had my share of pretty thin cases, but I would have been beyond embarrassed to walk this steaming pile of crap into a courthouse, let alone waste a judge's time in a trial.
GAH!

User avatar
Scooter
Posts: 16540
Joined: Thu Apr 15, 2010 6:04 pm
Location: Toronto, ON

Re: Here's One for the "Plan B" Bar Association

Post by Scooter »

So let's assume this was framed as an amendment to the existing sale agreement, and that purchasers were given the opportunity to back out and get a full refund. Are the terms enforceable as written? To me they are grossly overbroad and vague, and would be unenforceable on that basis, at least parts of them. It is more than ridiculous that someone could ask me what I thought of the show, and by answering, "I enjoyed it, you should see it if you get the chance," I would incur a $1 million penalty. But that is precisely how it is written.

The part about putting cellphones in storage I can totally get behind; aside from the fact that people are annoying with them, copyright does mean something and performers should be able to protect against being recorded.
"If you don't have a seat at the table, you're on the menu."

-- Author unknown

ex-khobar Andy
Posts: 5419
Joined: Sat Dec 19, 2015 4:16 am
Location: Louisville KY as of July 2018

Re: Here's One for the "Plan B" Bar Association

Post by ex-khobar Andy »

Were ticket-holders who refused to sign the NDA refused entry?

I went to a concert maybe 15 years ago (Handel's Messiah, Joann Falletta conducting) which was being recorded for a CD. We had to hand in cellphones and digital watches at the door because most of us -especially those of a certain age and likely to attend such a concert - don't know how to turn them off with 100.00000% certainty. The recording went off without a hitch and we all got our cellphones back with no mixups.

User avatar
RayThom
Posts: 8604
Joined: Wed Mar 14, 2012 4:38 pm
Location: Longwood Gardens PA 19348

Here's One for the "Plan B" Bar Association

Post by RayThom »

Did this phone grab constitute illegal search and seizure, or was it voluntary?

As per an NDA -- exactly what quality of confidential information were you not able to disclose while the concert was in progress? Can I assume you were free to speak about the concert once it was over?
Image
“In a world whose absurdity appears to be so impenetrable, we simply must reach a greater degree of understanding among us, a greater sincerity.” 

Post Reply