Personal Injury Law

Actor Sues for Personal Injuries After Being Detained at Oscars

By Michael

And you thought the Oscars were long.

An actor recently filed a $50 million personal injury lawsuit against the Academy of Motion Pictures Arts and Sciences, claiming that security guards working the Oscars ceremony interrogated and held him and his wife for several hours while the ceremony proceeded.

Michael Avmen filed the lawsuit accusing the Academy of illegal false imprisonment, as well as intentional and negligent infliction of emotional distress. He filed the lawsuit in the Central District Superior Court in California on April 27, according to FoxNews.com.

The damages requested in the suit are for claims that the couple were ?injured in health, strength and activity? and ?sustained injury to his and her body and shock and injury to their nervous system,? according to FoxNews.com

Avmen claims in the suit that tickets for the ceremony on March 7 were ?tentatively confirmed,? but both Avmen and his publicist were unsuccessful in finding a full confirmation before the ceremony, despite several attempts.

Once at the event, Avmen claimed that he and his wife were taken by an usher from the hotel they were staying at to an area where he could speak with an Academy employee named Kim he had talked to before about attending.

The suit further claims that Avmen and his wife were then led onto the red carpet by the usher, but were then immediately treated differently, according to Courthouse News Service.

The two were taken to what was described in the lawsuit as a ?detention center? and were questioned about how they accessed the red carpet area without tickets. They were then accused of lying and trespassing, according to FoxNews.com.

Avmen and his wife were held at by the ushers for about six hours, despite repeated requests to be allowed to simply leave and go back to their hotel. Around 10 p.m. Los Angeles police officers arrived at the area where the ushers kept Avmen and his wife.

The couple was then taken to a police station, but no charges were filed and Avmen said the officers apologized profusely for how the two were treated by the Academy staff.

The Academy has not commented about the case.

?If I or some ?regular? individual acted as The Academy did, we would be in prison right now. I want, and I will show that these people aren?t above the law,? Avmen said in a statement. ?Security is one thing, but this was outside the realm of excessive. My wife and I have suffered, and there has been a great injustice enforced.?

Full post as published by The Injury Blog on May 01, 2010 (boomark / email).