Movie Theater Pays $10,000 Damages In Snack Search Lawsuit
What ruins your movie-going experience more than being searched for surreptitious snacks? Having your mom discover that you're taking birth control pills when movie theater employees go through your purse.
This happened to a family in Montreal, Canada, and their solution was to sue the theater for $60,000 (54,942.86 USD)
Staff at the theatre were searching customers' bags for video equipment that could be used for movie piracy.Security guards didn't find any video equipment in the family's bags, but did turn up a large selection of snack food, which they asked the family to take back to their vehicle, Lurie said.
The judge in the case ruled that theaters are within their rights to search customers' bags, but only if the policy is made clear at the time customers buy their tickets. The family received $10,000 ($9,162 USD) in damages for the violation of their privacy.
Cinema ordered to pay $10K in damages for search [CTV] (Thanks, Chester!)
(Photo: erin_m)
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Comments:
Haha. True. I also love how everything about this story is so reasonable.
Yeah, they have the right to search if that's the policy. However it is unfortunate that you were harmed by this search. 60K is too much. Take 10K instead.
Listen, I know you guys have the Big 3 to deal with, but we're up to our necks in teenage girls trying to smuggle Big League Chew into Beverly Hills Chihuahua.
I used to be more frightened of bringing candy into theaters as a kid but when I do it now I feel fine doing it. I've never seen any movie theater have a sign posted saying bags will be searched, and you can bet I would put up a fight if they tried (without a sign).
As for the discovery of birth control, the article doesn't seem to say how old the "older daughter" is but as a parent I would at least be happy that she was taking the proper precautions.
And, as for this statement:
"And we're not allowed to put our hands in your bag, which is totally understandable. I don't want to put my hands in your bag. In fact, leave the bags in the car."This is great. Just leave your purse in the car in a parking lot where vandals know that car is going to sit there unattended for multiple hours at a time. Theaters just need to come to terms with the fact that people aren't going to spend $4 on an 89 cent bag of Skittles.
Sorry, but no pimply faced theater employee is EVER searching me or anything on my person. They are not the police and I am not getting on a plane.
This piracy crap has been elevated to a level of idiocy that is beyond belief.
Movie theaters, it seems, have gotten a lot more lenient about "outside food". I remember in the early 90's we had to sneak food in a diaper bag or my grandmother's purse because they would "search" you and/or ask you what is in the bag. Now, theaters must be greatful that people are still buying tickets. I have been able to walk right in carrying bags from the neighboring grocery store stuffed with food in plain sight (I usually still end up buying theater popcorn though--anything store bought isn't quite the same)
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Everyone needs to take a deep breath. Now, read carefully. This occurred in CANADA, not in the United States. They have different laws there. If you don't like it, don't visit.
That said, I'm not convinced that this wouldn't pass muster in the US. Private businesses should have the right to search you if they want. You retain the right to refuse to do business with them. If you don't want to be searched, don't patronize their theater.
@Wombatish: Well, go to a different theater, or try to change the law. But if it's the law, and you're informed before you buy tickets and such, they're being reasonable about it, as unreasonable as the thing they want to do may be.
@Esquire99: The Canadian Charter of Rights and Freedoms does protect against unlawful searches in a very similar fashion to the 4th amendment.
However, both the Charter and the US Constitution apply to the government, not movie theaters.
That's just it, though. Do the theaters actually say that they have the right? I know that I've never been to a theater that has publicly posted that buying a ticket means you agree to allow theater staff to search through your belongings.
@Mackinstyle: We bought more of the general, per capita, than our neighbours to the south, so they don't really have that excuse either.
We just like seeing what people carry around with them and don't have machines to strip search them at the airports.
But because the US is the US, even if you did just visit, you might not get back
(Or they might not let you visit.)
If they were searching for recording equipment than a simple opening of the bag should have been sufficient.
When the bag was opened and they saw a mound of food they were within their rights to say leave that in your car.
What I don't understand is why the employee has their hand in the woman's bag and was pulling out small individual items for inspection.
@Esquire99: I agree with you, if it's their policy and people submit willingly before going in, that's fine.
However, I still don't think it's a good policy for theater owners to implement. There are way too many bad things that can happen.
Think about it - you pay some kids minimum wage to work at your theater and you're going to give them the responsibility to make the correct decisions about how to search people and their belongings? Looking in women's purses and in people's coats?
Some states have concealed carry...they're going to find legally carried guns. Then what? They don't know they're legal. Are they going to out someone? Call the cops every time? What happens when the teenage employee's parents find out they're finding guns at work?
And searching people's children? How long is it going to take for some little girl's parents to claim a dropout teenager felt the kid up during one of these searches for candy?
I sure wouldn't take that risk if I was a theater owner or manager.
Hey, I mean they make most of their income from the concessions, so it's understandable. I bring my own food though, because $10 for a soda and a popcorn is criminal.
The only thing I would have a problem with is smelly foods. But, I have yet to see someone eat a burrito/tuna salad/indian food in a movie theatre. You bet your ass I would get the manager though
@Canino:
>Some states have concealed carry...they're going to find legally carried guns. Then what?
Post a large sign "ABSOLUTELY NO FIREARMS PERMITTED ON THE PREMISES. NO EXCEPTIONS. VIOLATORS WILL BE SHOT."?
Okay, not the last part, but I'm pretty sure CCW permits are only valid in all public places and private places that don't specifically deny them. I can't imagine a movie theatre (or, quite frankly, most retail establishments) losing business by losing business from people packing heat.
So... the theater basically settled for 300 tubs of popcorn. Considering how many tubs of popcorn are sold on a weekend at the average chain theater, this settlement won't even show up on the monthly P&Ls.
I prefer to support the local dinner theater. Not a chain and they serve real food! Drinks are a bit on the pricey side, but food's fairly priced, comparable prices to AppleFridayTuesdays.
@TheDayIsMine: I'm laughing at the idea of someone bringing in burritos, tuna salads, or indian food. You'd need to bring in a tv tray to hold it all.
Many of the theatres here (ON, Canada) sell, along with the usual stuff, Hotdogs, French Fries, Pizza, Taco Bell, KFC, and frozen yogurt.
Yep, fo' realz. I do enjoy eating fries while I watch a movie, though, but putting ketchup on them is difficult during a horror movie. :)
In some of the upper class malls in mexico, they sell food right at the theatre. You can take sushi, and even beer into the theatre itself.
/crazy stuff
Not everyone has a car or nearby bus station lock to store their belongings in.
I live downtown and might go straight from work to a movie or out to dinner with my bag, sans car.
If I have a couple power bars in my bag, (which I always do being type 1 diabetic,) I'm not going to trash them.
Yes it's within their right - but it's within my right to simply ignore them and walk to my seat in the dark theater and let them interrupt everyone else looking for me.
@shepd: You're not wrong, but it's still going to happen.
I don't think many theater managers are going to think about that aspect of it (finding legal firearms) until after the first time it happens (or the second, or the third, or whenever his employees decide to say something). And even after that, some states have very specific signage requirements the manager would have to research and spend time and money to implement correctly.
If the theater in the city where I live EVER tried to search my fiancee's back we would say no thanks and never return to that theater. Now that I think of it. No one I know has ever been searched for anything. I think most of them are not going to want to open up that can of lawsuit worms.
This isn't common in Canada. Its not like you get your stuff searched every time you go see a movie...not even close. The only times I've ever seen anyone get their bags searched in any Toronto theatre is when going into a sneak preview/pre-screening of a movie before its general release date. If nothing else, its too time consuming to do it to everyone coming into the theatres. 20 theatres x 200-300 ppl per theatre x new showing every 2.5 hours = a shitload of bags to search. Most can't be bothered.
This embarrassing possibility is precisely why my older sister carried a large pink* d̶i̶l̶d̶o̶ personal, battery-powered device in her handbag when going to the movies with the 'rents. Once Shamu broke for air, awkward conversations about her discrete pill-pack were completely forgotten.
* Because she's a lady, damn it!
@Joeb5: Because of the penguin ushers staffing Canadian stadiums, of course. Do you think that herring grows on trees? Do you?!
@ajlei: C'mon, it's Canada.
Potential car thieves leave a nicely-penned note under the wiper asking, "Is it okay if we take a quick look? Please?!" With a Yes/No checkbox and an RSVP space for a time and location that's convenient for all concerned.
And the follow-up Thank You note? Absurdly elaborate.
@mbz32190: "Diaper bag..."
BOY, I hope you never confused the two bundles inside the bag, it being dark and all.
"It's peanutty Goobers! NOM NOM NOMMIE NOM NOM!"
"No, these are the Goobers!"
"..."
@Canino: I'm pretty sure that if a Canadian ran into some foreigner insisting on carrying a loaded, concealed firearm into a pitch-black area packed with children and civilians, they'd tase the person, institutionalize them, then tase them again, just for the Hell of it.
Title is misleading...which is lame, they weren't searching for snacks, they were searching for video equipment, they ended up finding snacks, but that's irrelevant.
I dislike expensive food in theaters, but understand that is how they make their money so I support them and buy it. The theater I go to also has a concierge club (vip club) which I pay about $100/yr to be a member of that allows me to reserve seats (not just tickets, the actual seats I want for me and my guests, and we are escorted in by the usher) bypass all lines (even for premiers) and when I have gone out to eat before a show, they have put my food in their refrigerator while we enjoyed the move. I also have a unlisted number for the desk that manages this club so I get an answer when I call in under 4 rings typically.
Before having this membership I enjoyed going to the movies, but was on edge about spending so much money, now its fantastic. I see all the movies I want, with 0 hassle and all the benefits.
When I was a teenager, my friends and I would stop at Taco Bell for soft taco 6-packs on our way to the movies. We just carried them right in, never had a problem. Not saying it was right, just reminiscing.
At the independent theater the wife and I go to now, the snacks are actually from the bakery next door, and not even too pricey. You can get a decent sized cheesecake brownie and a coffee for $2.50.
Okay I HAVE to share this story - because let's face it ALMOST EVERYONE hates the RETARDICULOUSly high prices for food at the theater and sneaks food in.
Well I call this story "HAMBURGLER".
My brother and I did the Mickey D's run, and had everything hidden, and are coming into this theater, and are giving our tickets to the ticket check guy, and after I make it past - my brother blows it...
The guy stops him and is like, sir, sir, open your jacket. My brother does and the burger, which he had stuffed in without its box, pops out of his jacket, hits the floor and perfectly rolls all the way down like 74 stairs and explodes at the bottom. (A drum roll and cymbal crash would be perfect here.)
I have not ever laughed so hard in my life, along with like 50 other people, because of course he had to do this in front of God and everybody.
At that point, I could have cared less about the movie, I had just received more than enough comedic value for any movie ticket.
So I went out, got our money back and consoled him, and we went back to Mickey D's, got this ham-Burglar another burger and off to another theater we went (successfully this time).
Everybody happy - Movie Theater 1 ticket nazi did his job and saved the theater from hamburglar, we all got to die laughing at poor Mark and he got another burger past the next ticket nazi in the end.
@jamesdenver: That was my thought. I can take the subway to the theater and always have a couple of energy bars in my backpack. Heck, I've even carried in my groceries (not much, mind you), so it's not like they can afford to be massive pricks.
But the Boston Garden still won't let you carry in a bag of any kind (except a purse) and they search those. It's a real pain if you try to catch a game on the way home with your briefcase still with you.
@Joeb5:
some places here (long island, ny) are stricter than others
luckily, my favorite theater really doesn't care when i walk in with food
i've brought my entire dinner in with me one time.
i also brought a box of pizza during a matinee ... they actually told me the only reason they were letting me in is cuz there wasnt really anyone around to see them do it.
@KMan13 still wants a Pontiac G8: Lemme know what theatre it is... hard to find a nicer place that lets you bring in at least gummies.
I have a concealed carry permit. There is a little tiny sign on the door of our neighborhood cinema that prohibits bringing firearms into the theater.
Of course, we all know how expensive guns are if you buy them inside the theater -- not to mention the ridiculous price of hollow-point ammo -- so I bring my own.
The sign does not have "force of law" in my state, so the worst they can do if I'm discovered is ask me to leave, but I'm still concerned. If a package of birth control pills gets this much news coverage, imagine the media circus that will ensue when they find my Glock 29...
@Lucky_Strike-001: Most theaters these days suffer from one of the following:
a. Employee apathy
b. Actual trust in their patrons
c. Debilitating fear of lawsuits
It all works out in our favor.
@oldgraygeek: Ha!
It's private property, no doubt, so they have every right to respectfully request you do not bring in a concealed firearm.
I probably wouldn't CC in a movie theater. I feel bad enough about bringing my cell phone in there.
@lordargent: I nearly flipped the first time I went to a Cinepolis and saw that I could get a cappuccino and crepes instead of the ol' chili sauce popcorn.
Oh how I miss Mexican movie theaters.. the crap heap that is Cinemark makes me miss them that much more.
@oldgraygeek: The signs don't have force of law where you are? That's strange. I think if they did find your gun on you, it would be a media circus and a push to amend the law.
@Trai_Dep: Haha.. I don't want to be stereotypical but that seems a little too close to be made up. No, some friends and I drove up to Vancouver, BC when we were 19 to go drinking (we were already up in Bellingham, WA, or even I would have found it excessive to drive there) for the night and after getting completely wasted and pretty much dragging our friend through the streets while we asked people directions back to our hotel, everyone was helpful and we did not get mugged or attacked or anything. Plus the hotel we were in had a very popular gay bar on the bottom floor so there were all sorts of fun and exciting people coming through.
Suddenly my idea for the popcorn puffy jacket doesn't seem like such a bad idea. Imagine it -- you put the jacket in the microwave and pop the popcorn. The jacket looks puffy and will keep you warm in the winter, and you won't get the smell of popcorn until you rip open a sleeve and dive in. Of course, there is the issue of what you wear when you leave the theater, but I'm an inventor, not some logical person.
So the daughter got the $10,000 CAN, I hope?
I have taken food in to ball packs and movie theaters in plain site and they don't care so why does Canada have to?