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LOS ANGELES (CNS) - Attorneys for a former "Love is Blind" contestant filed court papers Wednesday to try and prevent the show's production company from going forward with arbitration of their claims against the plaintiff before she filed her own lawsuit alleging emotional distress stemming from her appearance on the reality series.
Renee Poche's Los Angeles Superior Court lawsuit was filed Tuesday against Netflix Inc., which airs the show, in which contestants blindly charm one another through words, and producers Delirium TV LLC. She seeks to cancel her contract and also alleges intentional infliction of emotional distress and violation of the state Labor Code.
Poche alleges that on the first night of filming in 2021, the show staff took her phone and other items and put her in a locked hotel room where she could not leave alone. She ended up in a fifth-season "showmance" with Carter Wall, whom she alleges was penniless and a drug and alcohol addict. Poche maintains Wall was abusive.
Before Poche sued them, Delirium sought private arbitration against her for allegedly violating an employment agreement to not be publicly critical of the show. On Wednesday, Poche's lawyers filed court papers with Judge Curtis Kin, asking him to issue a temporary restraining order preventing the arbitration from proceeding. A hearing is scheduled Thursday.
Poche's lawyers maintain that Delirium required Poche, without the advice of counsel, to sign unlawful employment agreement provisions in which she purportedly agreed to waive the company of any liability for employment claims, including those under the state Fair Employment and Housing Act, and for her to not disclose any illegal acts she was aware of in the workplace.
"As if the illegal confidentiality provisions were not enough, these draconian contracts also include shocking financial penalties for speaking out," Poche's lawyers state in their court papers. "Talent, who on average earn less than $10,000 for their participation in such programs, face liquidated damages upwards of $1 million per breach. Said differently, those who seek help as a victim of or witness to abuse will face financial ruin. Left with no other alternative, talent is forced to suffer in silence."
In a liquidated damages clause, the parties to a contract fix in advance a sum of money to be paid by the defaulting party to the innocent party in the event of a breach.