LOS ANGELES (CN) — A Los Angeles judge on Thursday declined to issue an emergency stay on arbitration proceedings between the producers of the Netflix reality series "Love Is Blind" and a former cast member, Renee Poche.
The popular series follows more than a dozen couples purportedly seeking love, and introduces them to perspective matches in special purpose-built "pods," in which they can communicate but not see each other. After "dating," in a manner of speaking, a few of the couples propose marriage; once accepted, the couples finally lay eyes on each other. The series follows them to Mexico, and then to their hometowns and finally the day of matrimony.
Poche, then a 32-year-old veterinarian living in Texas, was cast for the fifth season of the series along with 29 other men and women. She hit it off with Carter Wall, a 30-year-old construction worker and former college football player. Eagle-eyed fans of the series noticed that while Poche and Wall were featured briefly in the series, their storyline seemed to abruptly disappear, despite brief appearances in various scenes indicating that she and Wall were filmed throughout the season's entirety. One Reddit post urged Netflix to "Release the Renee cut."
That led to Poche to give a series of interviews, including one to Popsugar, in which she expressed surprise that her storyline had been cut. As for Wall, she said, "We fell in love with each other in the pods," adding, "But once we got back to Houston and back to the real world, I started noticing things that I kind of ignored or blew off that were red flags I should have picked up on. And eventually I did say 'no' at the altar."
These interviews were, in the eyes of the "Love Is Blind" production company Delirium TV, a violation of the stringent nondisclosure and nondisparagement clauses in Poche's contract, making her liable for up to $1 million per disclosure, for a total of $4 million. The contract also automatically funneled the dispute to JAMS, the largest private arbitration and mediation service in the country.
On Tuesday, Poche, who was paid $10,000 for participating in the series, sued Netlifx and Delirium claiming intentional infliction of emotional distress and labor code violations.
"When she joined the program, Poche was told that all participants would be extensively screened through a rigorous background check process, psychological examinations, and a compatibility assessment," Poche says in her complaint. "Wall, a 6-foot, 5-inch former football player, was not only broke and jobless but also homeless, violent, estranged from his parents, and actively addicted to amphetamines and alcohol."
In her complaint, Poche details Wall's behavior throughout the filming: "Wall regularly berated Poche, stole from the set or places they visited, and solicited others to buy painkillers and amphetamines for him. On multiple nights, Wall did not go to sleep at all due to his abuse of amphetamines. Wall was emotionally abusive on and off camera, lied malignantly, and heavily abused drugs and alcohol.
"In Houston, production staff warned Poche to ensure Wall had no access to firearms or other weapons because they were concerned he would hurt himself, her, or others," she says in the complaint.
The producers, according to the complaint, "made it clear that Poche would subject herself to legal action if she were to discontinue her participation in the program or otherwise refuse to move forward with the engagement. Astonishingly, production even admonished her for ‘not giving him a chance’ and encouraged her to continue filming with him."
In addition to damages, Poche also seeks to stop the arbitration proceedings, claiming the "Love Is Blind" nondisclosure clause violates a 2022 California law which restricts the use of such provisions. On Wednesday, Poche filed an emergency motion to halt the JAMS arbitration proceedings, arguing, "Delirium’s claims arise from grossly unlawful provisions it forced her to agree to and rely on laughably excessive liquidated penalties for any breaches thereof."
But LA County Superior Court Judge James Chalfant, who specializes in emergency ex parte motions (as well as writs and receivers), was unimpressed with the arguments offered by Poche's lawyer Mark Geragos, a fairly prominent plaintiff's attorney in LA and the owner of Los Angeles Magazine.
"There’s no emergency here now," Chalfant said. "There’s no reason to file this on an ex parte basis."
Geragos argued that being forced into an arbitration process would inflict irreparable harm on Poche.
"JAMS is demanding fees," Geragos said. "JAMS has a whole protocol that is irreparable, in terms of paying money."
Noting he understood the employer has to pay the arbitration fees, Chalfant asked Delirium's lawyer Lawrence Iser: "Are you prepared to pay fees?"
Iser said yes, adding, "There’s no emergency present."
Chlafant denied the motion, effectively forcing Poche to seek the stay somewhere else — either in the court where her case has been assigned, or in arbitration itself.
After the hearing, an annoyed Geragos said in a brief interview in the court hallway that Chalfant "obviously hadn’t read the papers. He needs to return from vacation."
In an email, Iser said: "We are pleased with the court’s ruling declining to enjoin Delirium’s arbitration. Because of long-standing U.S. Supreme Court precedent, the issue of the agreement’s validity is for the arbitrator to decide. We intend to bring a motion to compel arbitration of Poche’s claims."
Follow @hillelaron
Subscribe to Closing Arguments
Sign up for new weekly newsletter Closing Arguments to get the latest about ongoing trials, major litigation and hot cases and rulings in courthouses around the U.S. and the world.
