Legal Question in Civil Litigation in California
4 teenage girls kicked out of Edwards cinema
My daughters ages 13 & 14 and two of their freinds were embarassed & humilated when they were accused of throwing a quarter from the balcony & kicked out of Edwards cinema. (I have this in writing from the mng stating why she kicked the girls out.) A lady was standing at the concession stand & was hit in the head with a coin, she looked up & saw 2 teenagers upstairs,2 employees were sent to see who was upstairs, there was only 4 teenagers upstairs,2 were coming down in the elevator, they were asked by employees to leave tried to give back their money, they were asked if they were dropping coins, they said no but they knew who had done it. They kicked out 4 girls out at aprox 8pm on a Sat night just minutes before their movie, and told them that they were not allowed to come back to the cinema. When I spoke to the mng, she was very abrupt and rude. I asked if any one had seen the girls throw the coin, she said no. I asked if she had checked the security cameras, she said they did not have any cameras, security, or employees that worked upstairs. I was horrified to learn that for the past 5 years I have allowed my daughter to go upstairs by herself to the restroom. What if a sexual predator was upstairs, we would never know.
1 Answer from Attorneys
Re: 4 teenage girls kicked out of Edwards cinema
The movie theatre is private property and its management can order anyone to leave for any reason other than discrimination on the basis of race, religion, gender, etc.
The manager was within his rights to eject your daughters if he believed (even incorrectly) that they were involved in this incident. He was also within his rights to order them to never return; if they do go back they will be trespassers.
The theatre is not required to keep an employee stationed at the balcony level, nor is it required to have security cameras there. You're right that you wouldn't know if a sexual predator was up there, but you also wouldn't know if one was nearby in most other places.
If you believe the theatre's security is inadequate you shouldn't mind that your daughters are forbidden to go back. Try asking other theatres about their security precautions; you may find one or more that satisfy your concerns.
Related Questions & Answers
Looking for something else?
10,200 active attorneys ready to answer your legal questions today.
Featured Attorneys
Earn additional revenue and grow your business.
