An Austin man is suing the woman who was his date to see the new “Guardians of the Galaxy” movie after she texted throughout the film. According to the man, his date’s behavior constituted a “threat to civilized society.”
The Austin-American Statesman reports on Thursday, Brandon Vezmar filed a suit in small claims court against his date for the price of his movie ticket, $17.31.
Vezmar reportedly met his date to see “Guardians of the Galaxy, Vol. 2” on the dating app Bumble.
Vezmar told the Statesman, “It was kind of a first date from hell,” adding, “This is like one of my biggest pet peeves.”
According to the petition, Vezmar’s date “activated her phone at least 10-20 times in 15 minutes to read and send text messages” throughout the film.
The petition goes on to call the texting a “direct violation” of the theater’s policy and one that “adversely” impacted viewers' ability watch the film.
The petition claims, “While damages sought are modest, the principle is important as defendant’s behavior is a threat to civilized society.”
Vezmar told KVUE, “I am fully aware of the weirdness of this situation.”
“I said, ‘Listen, your texting is driving me a little nuts.’ And she said, ‘I can’t not text my friend.’ I said, ‘Well, maybe you can take it outside the lobby, you know, I’ve seen people get kicked out of movies for this,’” Vezmar explained.
Vezmar’s date left the movie and did not return, stranding him at the theater.
In a statement to KUVE, the unidentified date said she left the film because she felt “extremely uncomfortable” and needed to leave for her “safety”:
I did have a very brief date with Brandon, that I chose to end prematurely. His behavior made me extremely uncomfortable, and I felt I needed to remove myself from the situation for my own safety. He has escalated the situation far past what any mentally healthy person would. I feel sorry that I hurt his feelings badly enough that he felt he needed to commit so much time and effort into seeking revenge. I hope one day he can move past this and find peace in his life.
Alamo Drafthouse, where the pair were seeing the film, has offered to pay the $17.31.
In an email, Alamo Drafthouse founder and CEO Tim League told the Statesman, “On one hand, I am concerned about our courts being clogged with superfluous lawsuits, but as Vezmar states, this is a threat to civilized society.”
However, he said, “To save the time of the courts, the Alamo is willing help put this to bed and hereby offers Vezmar a gift certificate in the amount of $17.31 for his next cinema outing.”
The director and writer of the “Guardians of the Galaxy” film series, James Gunn, weighed in by suggesting jail time for the woman.
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