For most of us, the sight
of a bouquet of flowers is a happy one, guaranteed to brighten
our day. Ask certain individuals, however, and the idea
of flowers conjures up only one image - the courtroom.
Leroy Greer is one such person. In April 2007, Mr. Greer
sent the love of his life a dozen red roses, a stuffed
animal, and a card that read: "Just wanted to say that
I love you and you mean the world to me! Leroy."
Unfortunately, the love of his life and Mr. Greer's wife
happen to be two different people.
A few weeks after Greer placed the order, Internet florist
1-800-Flowers.com sent a discount coupon and a thank-you
card to his home. His wife got the card and, puzzled, called
the company to find out the specifics of the transaction.
When she asked for a copy of the receipt, the florist faxed
it to her; the receipt detailed the $100 cost of the order
as well as the message on the card.
Not surprisingly, Mr. and Mrs. Greer wound up in divorce
proceedings, with Mrs. Greer sending her cheating husband
a copy of the receipt with a handwritten note on the bottom.
It read "Be a man! If you got caught red-handed then don't
still lie."
As it turns out, Mr. Greer has a lot to learn about being
a man and accepting responsibility for his actions. Greer
decided that it was 1-800-Flowers.com's fault that he was
getting divorced, and so he filed a lawsuit in August against
the company in federal court in Houston, claiming that
the Internet florist had breached its privacy policy and
misrepresented that it would keep his indiscretion from
third parties such as his wife.
Greer demanded $1 million in damages in his lawsuit for
what he characterized as a breach of contract, deceptive
trade practices, economic injury, and mental anguish. In
true, "pot calling the kettle black" fashion, Mr. Greer
- who broke his wedding vows to his wife - is upset that
the flower company allegedly broke a promise to him.
But did they? According to 1-800-flowers.com's privacy
policy, the company does not make a customer's e-mail address
available to third parties without the customer's consent,
and offers the customer the option that customers who "prefer
not to have personal information about you or your message
or gift recipients shared with third parties" can "let
us know by email, writing, or calling us." There was no
evidence that Greer took such action, beyond requesting
that the bill be sent to a different address.
Greer isn't claiming that but for the revelation about
his affair, he wouldn't have landed in divorce court. Instead
he believes that the evidence of his adultery has led his
wife to seek an unequal division of the marital property.
Under any interpretation, such claims are on shaky legal
ground.
A company like 1-800-Flowers.com could properly release
information to a spouse, relying on her apparent authority
to act on his behalf. In addition, a court could view an
agreement to keep an affair secret as an unenforceable
contract, since it arises out of a bad act; a similar justification
was used to dispose of a lawsuit brought by a woman who
sued Michael Jordan, claiming he promised to pay her $250,000
to keep quiet about his infidelity with her.
The judge evidently didn't even need to look that far.
Earlier this month, Judge Nancy Atlas dismissed Mr. Greer's
case, ruling that the online "terms of use" that Greer
had agreed to called for any claims and disputes to be
brought exclusively in New York (1-800-Flowers.com is based
on Long Island). Because of this "forum selection clause" -
found in the same place as the privacy policy on which
Greer relies so heavily - the cheating husband can only
file suit in New York and nowhere else.
Just in case you thought common sense might intervene in
Mr. Greer's life at some point, his lawyer Kennitra Foote
has said they will be filing in New York "in the next couple
of weeks."
If you thought litigation over flowers blooms only in Texas,
then think again. In October, a New York lawyer sued the
Upper East Side florist who supplied the flowers for her
August wedding.
Elana Glatt (who practices under her maiden name of Elbogen)
and her husband David claim that Posy Floral Designs supplied
the wrong color flowers, substituting pastel pink and green
hydrangeas for the dark rust and green hydrangeas she had
specified for her 22 centerpieces. Not only did the pastel
colors clash with the linens, wedding cake and other decor,
according to Ms. Glatt's lawsuit, but the flowers were
wilted and brown, and arranged in dusty vases without sufficient
water.
The lawyer/bride, whose in-laws spent $27,000 on the flowers
alone, accused the florist of a whole host of "distressing
and embarrassing" offenses, including a "bait and switch" scheme
of substituting cheaper flowers than those promised. The
damages sought by this bridezilla for the "humiliation" of
not getting what she wanted? A cool $400,000.
Stamos and Paula Arakas, the owners of the florist shop,
are stunned by the lawsuit. They claim that they did their
best to match the color of the hydrangeas with a photo
provided by Ms. Glatt, but that they had explained that
with the lighting at the reception and the uncertainties
of nature, the colors might not look exactly the same.
The Arakas' point to a history of satisfied customers,
including Ms. Glatt's sister the year before. The florists
claim that Elana Glatt was out of control, ordering elaborate
arrangements that her future mother-in-law, Tobi Glatt
(who was paying for the flowers) would then downsize.
Mr. Arakas also contends that the bride "sent us 200,
250 e-mails changing things up until the last minute," and
that "we did everything they wanted." He also noted that
before filing the $400,000 lawsuit, Glatt had sent them
a series of e-mail messages demanding a refund but that
he did not respond because it "felt like extortion."
The lawsuit and resulting coverage in the New York media
has brought some unwelcome attention to the young lawyer
and the large law firm that (as of this writing) employs
her. Besides looking like a spoiled "bridezilla," it's
come out that Ms. Glatt is purportedly delinquent in paying
her New York Bar attorney registration, leading to the
question of whether she is even permitted to sign her name
to pleadings as an attorney.
Perhaps she should have considered having another lawyer
represent her. I can just see how the late Johnny Cochrane
would have characterized the case - "If the flowers were
rust, then this lawsuit's a bust."
Stamos Arakas probably had the best observation of all "My
father used to tell me 'Don't deal with lawyers," the embattled
florist said. "Maybe he was right."
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