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A policy is changing that will bar lawyers from working at some of New York City’s most prominent venues if they participate in lawsuits against their owners.
To be fair, it’s a small change — but a change nonetheless.
on Monday, madison square garden The entertainment company released a statement updating what it called its “adverse attorney policy,” which bars lawyers from participating in lawsuits against the company.
MSG Entertainment said the policy no longer applies to attorneys involved in the pending lawsuit against Tao Group Hospitality, which includes about three dozen restaurants and clubs in the city. That’s because the company is looking to sell the bar and restaurant group.
“As MSG Entertainment is exploring the possibility of selling its majority stake in Tao Group Hospitality, the company has removed its unfavorable counsel policy for the currently pending litigation with the Tao entity,” the statement read, adding that the companies affected will be notified.
However, the company made it clear: The change does not lift the ban on any attorneys working for other companies involved in legal proceedings against Madison Square Garden Entertainment.
“This policy remains in effect with respect to all other companies with active litigation against the company,” the statement concluded.
A new bill has been introduced to stop major venues from using facial recognition technology to block people who work for companies that have filed lawsuits against them. NBC New York’s Sarah Wallace reports.
msg entertainment has refuse to change policydespite outcry from those affected and from lawmakers who want to amend the laws that would have allowed the ban to be imposed.
used in about his company facial recognition technologyMadison Square Garden owner James Dolan threatened to ban the sale of alcohol At the New York Rangers game.
“Service Level Agreement [State Liquor Authority] Yes way, way beyond their skis…they were very aggressive, they said ‘we’re going to cancel your liquor license. ’ So I was kind of a surprise to them,” Dolan said in a televised interview. “What we’re going to do, yes, we’re going to pick a night, maybe a Rangers game, and we’re going to shut down the booze and booze in all the buildings. . “
The warning came in response to a State Liquor Administration investigation into Dolan’s use of facial recognition technology, which led to the barring of a group of lawyers who are currently suing his company, MSG Entertainment Corporation.
“It’s like something out of The Godfather, like ‘It’s just business.’ It’s not just business, and if you sue us, we’ll tell you not to come,” Dolan continued. “If you’re grandstanding in front of the media, I’ll tell you: Come on, take my license away. People will still come to the games.”
Madison Square Garden prohibits long-term season ticket holders from suing arena clients on behalf of them. News 4’s Erica Byfield reports.
The comments also came after New York Attorney General Letitia James Pressure on Madison Square Garden Entertainment over reports of use of facial recognition technology Identify the opposing attorney.
“MSG Entertainment cannot litigate in its own field,” James said in his Jan. 26 open letter. She is seeking a response from MSG Entertainment by February 13.
“Madison Square Garden and Radio City Music Hall are world-renowned venues that should treat all ticketed customers with fairness and respect,” she said. “Anyone with tickets to the event need not worry that they may be wrongfully denied admission due to their appearance, and we urge MSG Entertainment to rescind this policy.”
Madison Square Garden Entertainment responded to the letter, saying their policy “does not unlawfully bar anyone from our venues, and we have no intention of preventing attorneys from representing plaintiffs from bringing lawsuits against us. We are merely excluding a small group of attorneys who are actively lawsuits.” A spokesman added that the policy “has never been applied to attorneys representing plaintiffs alleging sexual harassment or employment discrimination.”
A spokesperson for the company previously told NBC New York that their facial recognition technology does not retain images of individuals unless they have been previously notified that they have been barred from company premises or their previous misconduct has identified them as a security risk.
For months, attorneys whose companies have been embroiled in lawsuits against Madison Square Garden Entertainment have found themselves barred from attending the company’s sporting events and entertainment venues, such as Knicks games and radio city rockete show.
At issue was a mother who went on a Girl Scout trip with her daughter to Radio City.
Kelly Conlon is a partner at the New Jersey-based law firm Davis, Saperstein and Solomon, which for years has been involved in personal injury litigation against MSG Entertainment-owned restaurant establishments (it’s not clear whether the group is Tao group hospitality).
A lawyer whose firm is suing MSG Entertainment has her daughter and other Girl Scouts banned from attending a Radio City Rockettes show because the company’s facial recognition technology knows where she works. NBC New York’s Sarah Wallace reports.
But Conlon said she does not practice law in New York and is not an attorney handling any cases involving MSG.
But that didn’t stop MSG Entertainment from identifying and locking her down when she entered the lobby before a show on the weekend after Thanksgiving. Security guards intervened, and while her daughter, other members of the Girl Scouts and their mother could go and enjoy the show, Conlon was not allowed to do so.
“I think for me, through the walkie-talkie or the megaphone, I’m going through the metal detector almost simultaneously,” she told NBC New York. “I’ve heard them say women have long black hair and a gray scarf.”
She said she was asked her name and showed identification.
“I believe they say our recognition lifts you up,” Conlon said.
A sign at Radio City Music Hall said facial recognition was being used as a security measure to keep guests and staff safe. Conlon said she posed no threat, but guards pushed her out anyway, explaining they knew she was a lawyer.
“They knew my name before I told them. They knew my company before I told them. They told me I wasn’t allowed to be there,” Conlon said.
MSG said she and the firm’s other attorneys, as well as others, were barred under their policies.
“While we understand this policy has disappointed some, we cannot ignore the fact that litigation creates an inherently unfavorable environment. All affected attorneys were notified of the policy, including Davis, Saperstein and Solomon, they were notified twice,” a spokesman for MSG Entertainment said in a statement.
“This whole scheme is a pretext for collective punishment of opponents who dare to sue MSG in their multibillion-dollar network,” said Sam Davis, a partner at Conlon’s firm.
Davis upped the legal stakes, challenging the State Liquor Authority for MSG’s license.
“The liquor license that MSG obtained required them to allow access to the public unless someone would disruptively pose a security threat,” Davis said. “Putting a mother with her daughter and her custody Girl Scouts — that’s absolutely absurd. The fact that they’re using facial recognition to do this is horrible. It’s un-American to do that.”
In a statement, an MSG spokesperson reiterated that safety is their top priority and facial recognition is just one of the methods they use. MSG Entertainment also expressed its belief that their policies comply with all applicable laws, including the New York State Liquor Department.
Critics of the NYPD’s use of facial recognition technology to identify suspects say the tool is inaccurate and doesn’t always work with people with darker skin tones, but the police department argues that the technology is by no means the sole basis for arrests. The I-Team’s Jonathan Dienst reports.
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