From yesterday's decision by Judge Frank Whitney (W.D.N.C.) in McBride v. Sacks:
Plaintiff Ty McBride … is the manager of [co-plaintiff] Mason Lane Entertainment LLC …. Sacks is an employee or agent of [the companies] Partisan … [and] Selmona ….
McBride has, for years, "operated music concerts" in the Charlotte area, responsible for attracting talent and scheduling events for venues around the city. McBride performs these services through Mason Lane. Prior to the initiation of this litigation, Plaintiffs were approached by representatives of then-unopened outdoor amphitheater AMP Ballantyne ("AMP"), its management company NOW Amphitheater Management LLC ("NOW"), and its primary investor … seeking McBride's expertise in venue management.
The five parties entered into a partnership wherein Plaintiffs "expended considerable time and provided extensive services" to prepare AMP Ballantyne for its launch. According to McBride, services rendered were uncompensated, and performed under the partnership agreement in expectation of future gain. Around June 2023, NOW entered into an Amphitheater Event Management Agreement ("AEMA") with Mason Lane under which Plaintiffs would provide various specialized services, including "securing entertainment for AMP Ballantyne events and setting up and running the food and beverage program for AMP Ballantyne events," in return for a portion of revenue generated through ticket, food and drink, merchandise, and parking sales.
In July 2023, McBride initiated discussions with Sacks to secure a Big Head Todd and the Monsters ("Big Head") concert at AMP. McBride and Sacks failed to agree on terms, after which Sacks reportedly "became angry and called McBride an amateur." Sacks then cancelled a band previously scheduled to perform at AMP, which McBride concludes occurred "because [Sacks] was angry with McBride about the Big Head Todd situation." McBride alleges Sacks, during a phone conversation with AMP promoter Bobby Hendrix ("Hendrix"), stated he did not trust AMP to schedule shows with Partisan because of McBride, telling Hendrix "AMP Ballantyne was not vetting its promotors or working with seasoned people," purportedly in reference to McBride. Sacks also stated to Hendrix, among other unspecified accusations, "McBride did not know what he was doing and was an amateur," and "Partisan Arts would not schedule further concerts for Partisan Arts's artists at the AMP Ballantyne if McBride continued to be associated with the venue."
Plaintiffs contend NOW opted to terminate the AEMA and inform McBride it could not move forward with any future commercial partnerships because of Sacks' threat to sever ties with the AMP parties if they continued to associate with McBride….
The court allowed plaintiffs' defamation claim to go forward for various reasons, including:
