Lawyers sue over ban on Madison Square Garden

A law firm representing a man who was punched in the face after a hockey game at Madison Square Garden — with video of the clash going viral — is the latest law firm to sue the arena over its ban on attorneys whose clients handle MSG to have.
Greenberg Law PC’s five attorneys allege an MSG attorney told them on Nov. 28 — the same day they filed a lawsuit on behalf of strike victim Joseph Urciuoli — that entry to MSG-owned venues is now banned prohibited, according to a Manhattan Supreme Court hearing Thursday.
Two of the firm’s attorneys – Alan Greenberg and Joseph DePaola – have tickets to upcoming MSG events that they are no longer allowed to attend.
DePaola has tickets to the Christmas Spectacular at Radio City Music Hall with his wife and children, ages 7 and 5 on Sunday, and Greenberg has tickets to comedian Jerry Seinfeld at the Beacon Theater on Dec. 17, the filing said .
The ban on MSG essentially “accused” the company of “unethical conduct without evidence” that will damage its reputation. And the ban will “intimidate and discourage potential customers from reaching out [the firm] to pursue potential litigation against MSG, its events or venues,” the lawsuit reads.
Greenberg Law wants a judge to overturn the ban.
“MSG’s position on the ethical implications of an attorney showing up at one of their venues is completely wrong,” DePaola told The Post. “There is no support for the position, no evidence that anyone is going to go up to a bartender or a hot dog vendor and start asking questions about ongoing litigation because we’re there about an unrelated event.”

DePaola said he was disappointed he couldn’t attend the Christmas show with his family.
“Living in Manhattan — we have two young children — we try to take advantage of everything the city has to offer, and obviously that’s hugely disappointing,” DePaola said. “It is by no means a happy feeling that your children and your wife are paying the penalty for a very unfair policy.”
It is at least the fourth law firm to be disfellowshipped this year due to an ongoing legal battle involving MSG’s historic sports arena.
One of the law firms, Davidoff Hutcher & Citron, filed suit in October to lift the embargo on its 60 attorneys. This case is ongoing, but the courts in this case have issued preliminary rulings that the attorneys are barred from entering the stadium while allowing them to go to other MSG venues.

Greenberg Law is representing Urciuoli, who lives in Connecticut, in his case against the stadium and James Anastasio, 29, of Staten Island, who punched Urciuoli and a man in a Tampa Bay Lighting jersey while walking out of a New York Rangers game.
The incident was caught on video and went viral.
Anastasio punched Urciuoli for trying to stop him from running away after the first silly punch.
Anastasio pleaded guilty to assault in September and was convicted of anger management.
Urciuoli accused MSG of negligence in his lawsuit, having inadequate security and allowing Anastasio to get drunk.
Anastasio’s attorney, Jason Goldman, previously told The Post his client learned of the incident and called the lawsuit “a last-ditch effort to snag money against the garden.”
A spokesman for MSG Entertainment told The Post, “We anticipate that this particular lawsuit will be concluded soon and look forward to welcoming back the attorneys of Greenberg Law PC.”
https://nypost.com/2022/12/08/lawyers-sue-over-madison-square-garden-ban/ Lawyers sue over ban on Madison Square Garden