Turns out booting lawyers only creates more potential lawsuits.
An attorney representing the lawyer who was flagged by facial recognition and kicked out of Radio City said Wednesday the ordeal was an outrageous “privacy invasion” that may be cause for a lawsuit.
Kelly Conlon — who was denied entry to a Rockettes show because her law firm is suing Madison Square Garden Entertainment — suffered at the hands of dubious technology that violates the privacy of every person who enters the venue, said Sam Davis, a partner in Conlon’s New Jersey-based law firm.
“If we do sue, we’re going to sue to prevent [MSG CEO James Dolan] from using this weapon against the public. It would be a privacy cause of action,” said Davis of Davis, Saperstein and Salomon.
“I think the public should know what [Dolan] does with those images once he captures them,” Davis added. “[The suit] would get to the bottom of that because someone with his motives should not be the flag bearer for this new era of privacy invasion.”
Conlon, 44, was taking her 9-year-old daughter’s Girl Scout troop to the Radio City Christmas Spectacular last month when she was singled out by the event space’s facial recognition system and refused entry.
A lawyer repping Kelly Conlon may sue Madison Square Garden. J.C.Rice
Radio City Music Hall began using facial recognition security to ensure safety for guests and staff. Matthew McDermottAfter she was denied entry, she was forced to spend 90 minutes wandering around outside in the rain while the troop enjoyed the show without her, she said.
Conlon later learned she was booted because her law firm has been involved in an ongoing personal injury lawsuit involving a restaurant owned by MSG Entertainment, the owner of Radio City Music Hall.
A sign inside Radio City tells guests that “biometric identifier information” is used as a security measure to ensure safety for guests and staff — but there was no cause for a safety concern in Conlon’s situation, Davis said.
MSG CEO James Dolan is in the line of fire over the facial recognition usage. GC Images“Once you start using [the technology] for something other than what you’re telling the public you’re using it for — which is for their safety — we want to know what else you’re using it for,” Davis said, raising questions about whether Dolan is “monetizing” the images.
“Are you using it to keep track of people you don’t like? Are you sharing that data with anyone else? Are you sharing it with law enforcement?,” he said. “[Dolan’s] got to be straight up with his guests.”
Dolan has banned anyone who works for any law firm with an ongoing lawsuit against any of his holdings, including the Knicks, Rangers, Radio City, MSG and various restaurants.
“We absolutely do not use facial recognition technology for any monetary gain. The system does not retain images of individuals, with the exception of those who were previously advised they are prohibited from entering our venues, or whose previous misconduct in our venues has identified them as a security risk,” MSG Entertainment said in a statement Wednesday.
“We have always made it clear to our guests and to the public that we use facial recognition as one of our tools to provide a safe and secure environment for our customers and ourselves,” it said.
MSG has also defended the move to kick out Conlon.
“MSG instituted a straightforward policy that precludes attorneys from firms pursuing active litigation against the Company from attending events at our venues until that litigation has been resolved. While we understand this policy is disappointing to some, we cannot ignore the fact that litigation creates an inherently adversarial environment,” MSG Entertainment said Tuesday.






