What Can We Learn From Love Is Blind’s Renee Poche Case?  Legal Insights and NDAs

Season 5 participant, Renee Poche (Yes, the Cutie Season!) is in a tussle with the Love Is Blind production company, Delirium TV and Netflix Inc. You may not remember her because Poche’s story was edited out of the show, and she alleges that her match, Carter Wall, was violent, emotionally abusive, and heavily relied on drugs and alcohol.

The Allegations and NDA Breach:

She claims that during filming she was forced to spend time with him and was scared out of her wits! Shortly after the show’s premier, she apparently breached her nondisclosure agreement (NDA) four times and was cited $1M per incident according to the NDA (that’s $4M compared to the $8,000 she received for being on the show!).

Legal Proceedings and Arbitration Clause:

She sued stating that the NDA was unlawful, and a California Judge sent her and her attorneys right back to arbitrator per her signed NDA. Apparently, in the agreement, all disputes between the parties are to be dealt with in arbitration, not in the PUBLIC legal court system. Poche’s legal team focused on a clause in the agreement that directs an arbitrator to decide on all claims except those that are barred and released, and “the agreement releases every claim under the sun,” therefore, Poche’s claims can’t be sent to an arbitrator.

Judge’s Ruling and Implications:

In the contentious hearing, the judge added of the ‘clear and unmistakable” language in Poche’s NDA, “the matter is delegated to the arbitrator to decide all the substantive issues raised by Plaintiff’s opposition to arbitration” and “the court is stuck with the contract. That’s the contract.” Essentially, the Judge ruled that even arguing whether the matter should be brought up in arbitration should be brought up in arbitration.

The Florida Context:

So what can we learn from this dumpster fire? The principal statute governing NDAs in Florida is the Florida Uniform Trade Secrets Act (FUTSA), codified in Chapter 688 of the Florida Statutes. In addition to FUTSA, Florida case law also enforces NDAs. To find that an NDA is unenforceable, the Courts will look to industry standards, and whether the language of the NDA is overly restrictive or broad.

Conclusion:

So, there you have it folks! We learn that those pesky NDAs with arbitration clause are most likely enforceable in Florida and love may not be blind at all, potentially just a bit nearsighted….