NYC law firm is one of a long list of questionable bans from the venue.

Madison Square Garden has a growing list of individuals and entities banned from their property. These are bans that do not involve any illegal or questionable behavior.

As reported in a recent ESPN article, they have now retaliated against attorney Mark E. Seitelman by barring him from entering MSG and its affiliate properties, such as Radio City Music Hall.

Seitelman was targeted by MSG, joining a growing “banned list,” because he filed a personal injury lawsuit against them regarding injuries that Seitelman’s elderly client sustained from a fall in the lobby of Radio City Music Hall.

MSG’s general counsel informed Seitelman via letter that he was not only banned, but all the attorneys working at his firm, Mark E. Seitelman Law Offices, PC, were as well. The stated rationale for the ban was to prevent attorneys from conducting investigations or taking statements from Music Hall employees. Seitelman is quoted as describing this reasoning as “ridiculous,” further clarifying that such activities would be legal ethics violations that would be grounds for disbarment.

MSG doesn’t stop at discouraging banned members via letter. They use facial recognition software at their entrances and have even gone so far as to bar entrance for attorneys who have already purchased tickets for their entire families.

“In the many years of experience I have in suing public entertainment spaces for injury suits, I have never encountered a blanket, across-the-board ban,” Seitelman says. “I would hope that MSG believes an injured person has the right to seek compensation for injuries caused by someone else’s negligence. If they do, it seems deeply disingenuous to punish the attorneys who are helping those injured people seek their day in court.”

While MSG has faced backlash from the public regarding the bans, the list remains in place and active. The list contains over 1,000 names and is growing, made up primarily of individuals with whom MSG has legal disagreements.