An attorney who has owned New York Knicks season tickets for nearly
50 years has sued Madison Square Garden Entertainment claiming that he
and nearly 60 lawyers from his firm were barred from the company's
properties.
Larry Hutcher said in the suit filed in state court
Thursday that MSG took the action against he and his partners at
Davidoff Hutcher & Citron LLP after he became lead counsel for 24
ticket resellers who were suing MSG for violating New York’s Arts and
Cultural Affairs Law.
Two weeks later, Hutcher received a letter
informing him that the attorneys were barred and that his tickets, which
he owned since 1976 and had already paid to renew for this season, were
revoked.
“Even though he faithfully renewed this subscription to
his great expense through zero championships, long playoff droughts,
postseason failures, and coaching musical chairs he was still summarily
discarded by MSG without warning solely because he fulfilled his ethical
duties to his clients," the suit says.
MSG said it instituted a
policy in June that precludes attorneys from firms engaged in litigation
against the company from attending events at its venues until that
litigation has been resolved.
“While we understand this is
disappointing to some individuals, MSG has both a right and obligation
to protect itself during litigation procedures,” an MSG spokeswoman said
in a statement. “We cannot ignore the fact that litigation creates an
inherently adversarial environment, and an ancillary consequence of that
is our need to protect against improper disclosure and discovery.”
The
ban not only applies to Knicks and Rangers games at Madison Square
Garden, but also concerts at the venue and its properties such as Radio
City Music Hall and the Beacon Theater.
Hutcher's suit argues that
there is no need to fear any conflicts with attorneys attending events
because anyone working for MSG at one would not only need to have
knowledge of any litigation, but would need to have the authority “to
bind MSG to a decision that will impact the subject litigation.”
“How
many MSG employees fall into this limited category?" the suit says.
"The odds of an individual plaintiff discussing the subject of the
litigation with that MSG employee are astronomical. There are better
odds of being struck by lightning or the Knicks winning the NBA
championship this year.”
Bans are not uncommon at MSG under James
Dolan. Even former Knicks star Charles Oakley got one after he was
critical of the team's owner and then kicked out of the arena while
attending a game.
Besides monetary damages, the suit seeks
Hutcher's season tickets to be reinstated in time for this season and
the ban against the attorneys to be lifted immediately.