If you've ever tried online dating, you should know that dates run the gamit. Sometimes people connect immediately, but more often or not there are at least a few awkward moments, and frequently people don't get on at all. It's pretty safe to say that Austin resident Brandon Vezmar falls into the latter camp, as he went on a date with a woman at Round Rock and is now suing her for texting through the movie they saw.
Earlier this month, Brandon Vezmar took a woman on a date to see Guardians of the Galaxy Vol. 2. Unfortunately, it seems that he was much more interested in seeing the movie than his date was, as he is now claiming that she pulled her phone out 15 minutes into the new Marvel movie, and is saying she texted over 20 times in 15 minutes, ruining his enjoyment of the film. He is now suing her in small claims court for the cost of the movie, a whopping $17.31.
The woman in question, who has not been named, spoke to the Statesman and called the small claims suit "crazy." In her defense, she said she only texted two or three times during the movie, and that she "wasn't bother anybody." After Vezmar suggested she go outside to text, the lawsuit filer said she did get up... but not to text. She simply left the theater, and since they had driven together, she left him without a ride. He later said he tried to get the money back from her via text message.
The whole situation is of the he said-she said variety, as the woman has claimed Brandon Vezmer got a little weird when he tried to contact her sister to get the 17+ dollars back. The small claims suit Vezmar filed also claims it realizes that the money he is hoping for is small but that "the principle is important."
People who text in movies, even if they have the brightness of the screen turned down, are distracting to some audiences. There's a good percentage of moviegoers who would love for phones to never come out during a movie, and in some ways many of those people can probably see why Vezmar was frustrated. There's a reason movie theaters run all of those commercials about turning off your cell phone beforehand, but this might be the first we've heard of a man trying to recoup the money he spent on a bad date thanks to texting. Of course it sucks when things don't go well, but still, most people don't expend the mental energy to try and get their money back when they don't gel with a person, either. Whatever ends up happening, perhaps the movies aren't the best place for Vezmar to take a date next time.
