Professional Documents
Culture Documents
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MICHAEL PSENICSKA,
Plaintiff-Appellant,
Defendants-Appellees.
STATEMENT OF JURISDICTION 1
ISSUES PRESENTED 2
STATEMENT OF FACTS 5
SUMMARY OF ARGUMENT 16
STANDARD OF REVIEW 18
ARGUMENT 19
CONCLUSION 36
CERTIFICATE OF COMPLIANCE
TABLE OF AUTHORITIES
CASES
Apfel v. Prestia,
41 A.D.3d 520, 838 N.Y.S.2d 605 (2d Dep't 2007) 16
Arar v. Ashcroft,
532 F.3d 157 (2d Cir. 2008) 18
Cahill v. Regan,
5 N.Y.2d 292, 184 N.Y.S.2d 348 (1959) 21
Collins v. Harrison-Bode,
303 F.3d 429 (2d Cir. 2002) 18
Demaria v. Brenhouse,
277 A.D.2d 344, 716 N.Y.S.2d 99 (2d Dep't 2000) 21
Dickson v. City of New York,
43 A.D.3d 809, 842 N.Y.S.2d 27 (1st Dep't 2007) 30
Farber v. Breslin,
47 A.D.3d 873, 850 N.Y.S.2d 604 (2d Dep't 2008) 30, 31
Fleming v. Ponziani,
24 N.Y.2d 105, 299 N.Y.S.2d 134 (1969) 33
Goldman v. Belden,
754 F.2d 1059 (2d Cir.1985) (on Rule 12(b)(6) 20
Gross v. Sweet,
49 N.Y.2d 102, 424 N.Y.S.2d 365 (1979) 27
n
Kaminskyv. Gamache,
298 A.D.2d 361, 751 N.Y.S.2d 254 (2d Dep't 2002) 22
Kass v. Kass,
91 N.Y.2d 554, 673 N.Y.S.2d 350 (1998) 28
Kittay v. Kornstein,
230 F.3d 531 (2d Cir. 2000) (Rule 12(b)(6) 21
Lanni v. Smith,
89 A.D.2d 782, 453 N.Y.S.2d 497 (4th Dep't 1982) 22
Liftman v. Magee,
54 A.D.3d 14, 860 N.Y.S.2d 24 (1st Dep't 2008) 17
Mangini v. McClurg,
24 N.Y.2d 556, 301 N.Y.S.2d 508 (1969) 30
Roth v. Jennings,
489 F.3d 499 (2d Cir. 2007) 16, 18
iii
Sayers v. Rochester Tel. Corp.,
7F.3d 1091 (2dCir.l993) 28
Scheuer v. Rhodes,
416 U.S. 232 (1974) 20
Turkish v. Kasenetz,
27 F.3d 23 (2d Cir.1994) 35
28U.S.C. § 1291 1
28U.S.C. § 1332 1
OTHER AUTHORITY
iv
DOCUMENTARIES AND MOTION PICTURES
Jazz On a Summer's Day (1960, directed by Aram Avakian and Bert Stein) . 26
v
STATEMENT OF JURISDICTION
Maryland, appeals from a judgment entered in the United States District Court for the
Southern District of New York based on a Memorandum and Order, dated September
U.S. C. § 1332. This action is between citizens of different States or between citizens
of different States and a citizen or subject of a foreign state is an additional party. The
1291. Final judgment disposing of all claims was docketed on September 24, 2008.
A-57. Psenicska filed his Notice of Appeal from the Memorandum and Order on
September 18,2004. A-56. The Notice of Appeal was timely filed in accordance with
2. Did the district court err by ruling as a matter of law that a release,
within a release, did the district court err by ruling as a matter of law that the disputed
4. Did the district court err by ruling that a plaintiff who had properly
pleaded each element of a claim for fraudulent concealment could not possibly prove
5. Did the district court err by ruling that a release obtained under
false pretenses contained a both a sufficiently specific disclaimer of its own validity
fraudulent inducement?
STATEMENT OF THE CASE
This action arises from defendants' deceit while producing the motion
picture Borat: Cultural Learnings of America for Make Benefit Glorious Nation of
Kazakhstan, a ribald satire of awe-inspiring crudity. Sacha Baron Cohen, who in the
encounters with real people who have no idea they're victims of an elaborate put-on.
Michael Psenicska was one such victim. Led to believe he would appear
giving a driving lesson. Just as the filming was to begin, he was handed a Consent
Agreement, in which he gave his permission " to be filmed and audiotaped ... for a
of such obvious fiction as the Borat motion picture and contending that the disclaimer
would understand, what any dictionary will confirm. He also contended that the
disclaimer clause was not sufficiently specific to preclude his reliance on the
and granted the motion. The district court ruled that the Consent Agreement was
unambiguous and fully enforceable; applied to any type of film, even a work of
contained merger and disclaimer clauses sufficiently broad and specific to preclude
Sagdiyev, one of three characters he created HBO's Da AH G Show, to the big screen
as a physical comedian, and his talents for precise timing and improvisational
response. Fearlessly playing the game to the very end, Cohen keeps a straight face
(even as he's handing a bag of his own excrement to a hostess) and never breaks
character, never revealing the intelligent man underneath the mask of a mustachioed
moron. Like Mike Myers as Austin Powers, Cohen - drawing all the possibilities
comic performance so outre that the plot, such as it is, recedes to mere decoration. A-
15. It should come as no surprise that Borat producer Jay Roach directed the Austin
Powers features and that director Larry Charles created the situation comedies Curb
Cohen justifiably won the Golden Globe® Award for Best Actor in a
Motion Picture - Musical or Comedy and was justifiable name Best Actor by the Los
Angeles Film Critics Association. A-15. Borat was justifiably named Best Comedy
Movie by the Broadcast Film Critics Association. Id. Peter Travers of Rolling Stone
magazine accurately proclaimed Borat as "a mind-blowing comedy classic." Id.
(actually shot in Romania), where the local rapist is regarded as a colorful eccentric.
Borat introduces his celebrated sister, a blond he kisses full on the lips, as the "No.
revered customs, the Running of the Jew, in which local kids chase an enormous
paper-mache Hebrew through the streets and kick a giant egg to stop "the Jew chick"
The script (by Cohen and three other writers) then sends Borat and his
producer, Azamat (played by Ken Davitian, also a paid actor), to "the U, S, and A"
on an ostensible mission to report on the customs and mores of the American people
for Kazakhstan television. What follows is less a narrative than a series of vignettes
within a loose framework involving Borat's quest to marry the actress Pamela
Anderson. (Borat does wind up married but to a call girl, Luenell, played by Luenell
Campbell, a professional actress.) Each vignette has its own mixture of characters and
staged comedic set pieces, each intended to be more outrageous and offensive than
horse. Upon his arrival in New York, Borat struggles with the airport escalator,
mistakes the hotel elevator for his room, and washes his face in a toilet bowl. While
out and about, he defecates in front of a Trump tower and masturbates in front of a
Victoria's Secret store. In between, he takes instruction from a humor coach (who's
taunting their mentally retarded brother), meets with feminists ("I could not
concentrate on what this old man was saying"), and tries to plant kisses on startled
strangers. At the end of his first full day, while lounging in his form-fitting pajamas,
he sees a rerun of Baywatch and falls in love with Pamela Anderson. As fate would
have it, he receives a telegram informing him that his wife has been killed by a bear,
so it's off to California to pursue the woman of his tumescent dreams. A-15.
He decides to drive rather than fly, fearful that the Jews will repeat their
attack of 9/11. He and Azamat buy a junked ice cream truck and sputter off into the
American heartland. Along the way, he buys a bear (to protect himself from the Jews)
congressman Bob Barr, offering him a gift of cheese made with milk from his wife's
tit, and with African-American politician Alan Keyes, assuring his viewers that the
tells the crowd, "We support your war of terror. May George Bush drink the blood
-7-
• He and Azamat stumble into a bed-and-breakfast run by an elderly
Jewish couple, and in the middle of the night become convinced their hosts have
turned themselves into roaches, try to mollify them with dollar bills, then, terrified,
a Texas gun shop, asks "What's the best gun to defend from a Jew?" then goes into
cavalcade of offenses against common decency at a formal dinner party, where the
hostess instructs him to use the toilet instead of bringing a clear plastic bag of his
poop to the table. (This is likely the first film ever with a "Feces provided by" credit.)
Azamat, a gelatinous walrus of a man, that starts in a hotel room, spills into the
hallway and lobby, and ends in the ballroom amidst a convention of mortgage
uninhibited performances shot from many angles over many takes. The two actors,
working under the tutelage of a "Naked Fight Coordinator," are carefully posed, often
-8-
in bizarre positions, and their movements are carefully choreographed. With each
attack and counter-attack the actors give priceless facial expressions. The scene opens
with Borat in the bathtub, his head and shoulders shown in a close-up; then the
camera pulls back to show his full body in a bubble bath. There is a cut to a one-shot
of Borat, a towel around his waist, entering the bedroom from the left. The camera
follows Borat into the room then cuts to a one-shot of a nude Azamat on the bed
a close-up one-shot of Borat and a reverse two-shot as Borat sees Azamat. Borat
attacks Azamat while screaming, and the camera zooms onto the bed as Borat grabs
the magazine. The fight begins. Borat loses his towel, and the two nude men heave
each other about the room over a series of at least 60 cuts. The scene shifts to the hall,
as Azamat flees the room with Borat in pursuit, both still nude. They enter an elevator
and stand quietly as they allow other passengers to exit. They run nude through the
lobby, enter the ballroom screaming, and continue their tussle on the stage. Of course,
the cameras, lights, and sound equipment had to be set up at various locations to
-9-
PSENICSKA'S ROLE IN THE BORA T MOTION PICTURE
teacher, has owned a driving school in Perry Hall, Maryland, near Baltimore.
Psenicska has given driving lessons to hundreds of students, many of them foreign
Lewis Shulman, who falsely gave his name as Todd Lewis and said that his
"documentary about the integration of foreign people into the American way of life."
Being in the business of teaching foreign nationals to drive and understanding the
documentary. A-20.
initial phone call. They discussed Psenicska's background and his particular interest
in educating foreign nationals. Psenicska met with Shulman at his driving school on
producers of the documentary. Psenicska informed Shulman that he was available for
the actual taping during the next few days, except Monday, June 13, which was not
convenient for Psenicska, because he had to teach a class at 6:00 p.m. A-20-21.
-10-
The next day, Friday, June 10, Shulman called Psenicska and said that
Monday, June 13, was the only convenient day for his crew and that the taping had
arranged to meet Shulman and his crew at the Snowden Square Shopping Center on
Monday, June 13, 2005, at 1:00 p.m. The taping was scheduled to end by 5:00 p.m.
Psenicska told Shulman that he had to leave by 5:00 p.m. in order to arrive in Perry
the production crew arrived 90 minutes later than agreed, at 2:30 p.m. By that time,
Psenicska $500 in cash and a few pieces of paper with a pen. Shulman said that the
papers were standard and needed by the producers for the documentary. Rushed for
time, Psenicska took the cash and signed the papers where Shulman indicated without
reading or even more than looking where to sign and put his information. Shulman
had not told Psenicska that he would be presented with any papers to sign, so
Psenicska did not have his reading glasses with him. Relying on his previous
conversations with Shulman, Psenicska believed that the papers were materials
-11-
Soon after Psenicska signed the papers, Shulman showed Psenicska the
driver-education car that the film crew had brought. As requested by Psenicska, the
car was properly equipped with the required dual brakes, sideview mirrors, and signs.
The car also had cameras mounted inside to videotape the driver and student. A
Psenicska was told to follow a production van that would have its rear doors open and
stretch limousine appeared, and Cohen, dressed as Borat, got out and approached
Psenicska. As Psenicska went over to meet his "student," Borat did a "kissie huggie"
routine and then tried to get into the back of the car. Once he was corrected to get into
the front, he attempted to engage the seatbelt on by wrapping it between his legs,
twisting it all different ways, and struggling like a child. Psenicska offered to help,
but Borat finally managed to buckle the belt even though it was still twisted.
Psenicska instructed Borat to drive with the seatbelt as it was since the car had
already started. (The seat-belt routine did not appear in the theatrical version of the
motion picture but was broadcast on the YouTube internet site extensively.) A-22.
What followed can only be described as surreal. Borat held the steering
wheel in a strange position. Psenicska instructed him to put both hands on the wheel.
Borat made a comment about how using two hands made him look funny. Psenicska
-12-
said that he didn't care what it looked like and to hold the wheel the proper way.
When Borat started driving, he was stabbing the brake and driving on the wrong side
of the road with another car approaching. Psenicska grabbed the wheel to bring it to
the correct side. Psenicska tried to explain the basic rules. Rather than take
instruction, Borat started bashing Jews, stating, among other slurs, that they were
cheap. Psenicska said that he would not tolerate such remarks. Borat then started
bashing women, stating, among other inanities, that they had small brains. Psenicska
again admonished Borat against such remarks. Borat rolled down the window and
offered a female pedestrian $10 for "sexy time." Psenicska used his power window
controls to roll up Borat's window and told Borat that women in this country can
choose with whom they want to have sex. Borat was incredulous. Then Borat saw an
African American man and started to scream "Chocolate Man!!" Psenicska told him
Borat to stop this as well. The car was moving the entire time, and Psenicska was very
concerned for the safety of everyone in the car's proximity. At different points, Borat
turned completely around to look out the back of the window, made a screeching U
turn, made a left turn across a busy road, drank "alcohol," discussed two men going
into the woods and doing "banga banga," and also drove very fast on quiet residential
streets with children on the sidewalk, requiring Psenicska to grab the wheel or use his
When the taping ended, Psenicska knew he would be late for the class
-13-
at his driving school, but he went up to a group of men he thought were the producers
of the film and said, "Did you hear what he was saying in the car? Did you see what
he was doing in the car?" Nobody responded. Psenicska persisted: "You set me up,
and what you set me up for I don't know." Again, nobody responded. Without time
to gain anyone's attention, Psenicska left to teach his class. Psenicska tried calling
Shulman for the next few days, but Shulman never returned any of Psenicska's phone
calls. Psenicska finally gave up and forgot about the incident until the release of the
Borat motion picture, which was distributed by defendant Twentieth Century Fox
Psenicska's name and, image have been extensively used not only in both
the theatrical and DVD versions of the Borat motion picture but also for the
advertising and promotion. Psenicska's name and image have been broadcast on
network talk shows, in advertisements appearing on HBO and CNN, and in videos
Consent Agreement," which provided (at f 1): "The Participant agrees to be filmed
and audiotaped by the Producer for a documentary-style film (the "Film")." These
words were consistent with how Shulman described the film to Psenicska. The cover
letter for the Consent Agreement was also consistent with Shulman's description:
-14-
"Thanks very much for your interest in appearing in our Film. We're glad that you
want to appear in the Film to share your views or insights with the public." (The letter
signature. A-14. Neither Lewis nor anyone other member of the production crew
provided Psenicska with a copy of the Consent Agreement. Psenicska did not receive
a copy until a formal request was made through counsel over a year and one half later,
after the Borat motion picture was released and in the theaters. A-22.
-15-
SUMMARY OF ARGUMENT
district court improperly resolved a sharp factual dispute between the parties. See
Roth v. Jennings, 489 F.3d 499, 509 (2d Cir. 2007) ("A ruling on a motion for
dismissal pursuant to Rule 12(b)(6) is not an occasion for the court to make findings
of fact").
only to a work presenting political, social, or historical subject matter without the
insertion of fictional material, and by its very terms does not extend to contrived
Dep't 2007) (stipulation discontinuing the defendants' housing court proceeding and
settling all claims "between the parties to date" not intended to preclude the plaintiffs
See Bank of America Nat. Trust & Sav. Ass 'n v. Gillaizeau, 766 F.2d 709, 713 (2d
Cir. 1985) (A release will not be given effect unless it contains an "explicit,
and on that basis may seek to avoid any release contained in the Consent Agreement:
-16-
(1) defendants misrepresented or concealed material facts about the Borat motion
picture; (2) the misrepresentations were false and known to be false when made, or
the concealment was intentional; (3) the misrepresentations were made, or the
concealment was done, with the intent of inducing reliance; (4) without the means to
ascertain the truth, Psenicska reasonably relied on the misrepresentations. See Joint
Venture Asset Acquisition v. Zellner, 808 F.Supp. 289,302 (S.D.N.Y. 1992); Littman
v. Magee, 54 A.D.3d 14, 17,860 N.Y.S.2d 24,26-27 (1st Dep't 2008) ("a release may
validity nor a specific disclaimer about a fictional work, and therefore does not
Trust Co. v. Yanakas, 7 F.3d 310, 317 (2d Cir. 1993) (merger clause in guarantee
itself); Pete's Corner, Inc. v. E-Miljud, Inc., 84 A.D.2d 761, 443 N.Y.S.2d 772 (2d
Dep't 1981) (contractual provision specifying that buyer takes items "as is" does not
-17-
STANDARD OF REVIEW
granted is a ruling of law, and such a decision is reviewed de novo. Arar v. Ashcroft,
532 F.3d 157,168 (2d Cir. 2008); Vietnam Ass'nfor Victims of Agent Orange v. Dow
Chemical Co., 517 F.3d 104,115 (2d Cir. 2008). In such a review, this court, like the
district court, "must accept as true all of the factual allegations set out in plaintiffs
complaint, draw inferences from those allegations in the light most favorable to
plaintiff, and construe the complaint liberally." Roth v. Jennings, 489 F.3d at 510.
reviewed de novo. Phillips v. Audio Active Ltd., 494 F.3d 378,384 (2d Cir. 2007); In
re Holocaust Victim Assets Litigation, 282 F.3d 103, 108 (2d Cir. 2002).
a question of law and is reviewed de novo. Collins v. Harrison-Bode, 303 F.3d 429,
-18-
ARGUMENT
A-50. That may be one way to interpret the motion picture, but this interpretation
staged elements in the motion picture and overlooked the fact that the motion picture
actually contained relatively few candid moments. The Borat character is created in
several scripted scenes and by the fictional dialogue Borat delivers directly to the
camera. All scenes with Azamat are scripted and staged, notably the rides in the ice
cream truck, the "escape" from the bed-and-breakfast, the nude wrestling, and a
rapprochement in Los Angles, where Borat espies Azamat dressed as Oliver Hardy.
(This is not the only cinematic reference; shots in New York evoke Midnight Cowboy
[1969, directed by John Schlesinger], and shots in the heartland evoke Easy Rider
-19-
[1969, directed by Dennis Hopper]). All one-on-one scenes between Borat and
Luenell are scripted and staged. Borat's attack on Pamela Anderson is transparently
staged. There is even some subtle humor: The bear brought for protection against the
Jews disappears without credible explanation, and its head is later seen on a platter
in a refrigerator. Throughout, the film makers ask the audience for a significant
suspension of disbelief.
A reasonable trier of fact could very well conclude, after watching the
(on Rule 12(b)(6) motion, court does not weigh the evidence that might be presented
at a trial; instead, court merely determines whether the claims are legally sufficient).
Under such circumstances, the trier of fact could conclude that, notwithstanding the
motion picture. See Villager Pond, Inc. v. Town ofDarien, 56 F.3d 375, 378 (2d
Cir.1995) (issue before the court on Rule 12(b)(6) motion "is not whether a plaintiff
will ultimately prevail, but whether the claimant is entitled to offer evidence to
support the claims") (quoting Scheuer v. Rhodes, 416 U.S. 232,235-36 (1974)), cert,
district court erroneously concluded that Psenicska could not, under any
-20-
circumstances, prove his claims. See Kittay v. Kornstein, 230 F.3d 531, 537 (2d Cir.
2000) (Rule 12(b)(6) motion may be granted only when it appears beyond doubt that
to a work of fiction, the Consent Agreement by its terms does not apply to the Borat
motion picture. See Cahill v. Regan, 5 N.Y.2d 292, 184 N.Y.S.2d 348 (1959) (a
release may not be read to cover matters which the parties did not intend to cover);
Demaria v. Brenhouse, 277 A.D.2d 344,345, 716 N.Y.S.2d 99, 100 (2d Dep't 2000)
claims against the Producer... or anyone associated with the Film" — is limited by the
38 A.D.3d 381, 382, 832 N.Y.S.2d 195, 196-97 (1st Dep't 2007) (when "a release
on the face of the instrument other than general words of release to show that
anything more than the matters particularly specified was intended to be discharged,
the general words of release are deemed to be limited thereby") (citations omitted);
Kaminsky v. Gamache, 298 A.D.2d 361, 361-362, 751 N.Y.S.2d 254, 256 (2d Dep't
2002) ("if from the recitals therein or otherwise, it appears that the release is to be
-21-
limited to only particular claims, demands or obligations, the instrument will be
operative as to those matters alone"); Vines v. Gen. Outdoor Adver. Co., 171 F.2d
487,492 (2d Cir. 1948) (Hand, J.) ("[I]n arelease[,] words of general import, followed
or preceded by words relating to specific claims, are, ceteris paribus, limited to the
specific claims").
Because Psenicska did not give his consent for the use of his image or
the exploitation of his services in a work of fiction, he may pursue his claims in this
action. See Fitzgerald v. Fahnestock & Co., 850 N.Y.S.2d 452, 453-54 (1st Dep't
2008) ("the settlement agreement and release between petitioner and Fahnestock,
which contained a recital of petitioner's action against Fahnestock and their desire to
agreement, is not necessarily a general release"); Blogv. Sports Car Club of America,
Inc., 254 A.D.2d 65, 66, 678 N.Y.S.2d 609, 610 (1st Dep't 1998) (release of
negligence claims arising out of go-kart race does not cover claims involving the
design, manufacture, or sale of the go-kart); Lanni v. Smith, 89 A.D.2d 782, 783, 453
N.Y.S.2d 497, 498 (4th Dep't 1982) (release referring to specific claims does not
cover all claims arising from same accident, because "There is no phrase indicating
that the release covers all claims arising from the accident").
The district court ruled that the Consent Agreement can apply to a
fictional work such as the Borat motion picture, because: "The fact that Borat is a
-22-
fictional character, however, does nothing to diminish the fact that his fictional story
is told in the style of a true one." A-50-51 (emphasis in original). The district court
improperly stretched the words of the Consent Agreement beyond their plain and
ordinary meanings.
documentary shorts and feature films; as a noun, the word means "a movie or a
television or radio program that provides a factual record or report." New Oxford
American Dictionary (Erin McLean, ed., 2d ed., New York: Oxford University Press,
Inc. 2005). The word "-style," as a suffix forming adjectives and adverbs, means: "in
a manner characteristic of: family-style I church style." Id. Therefore, the phrase
provides a factual record or report, and the Borat motion picture is not such a work.
a work of fiction. A film made in the style of a documentary is based on facts that can
be documented and corroborated by reliable sources, and such a film does not contain
-23-
Dist, 46 A.D.3d 1003, 1005, 846 N.Y.S.2d 809, 811 (3d Dep't 2007) (court "duty-
bound" to "give words and phrases employed their plain meaning"); Innophos, Inc.
v. Rhodia, S.A., 38 A.D.3d 368,374, 832 N.Y.S.2d 197,203 (1st Dep't 2007) (words
having to answer to Psenicska about the method they chose to cover the topic of
assimilating the foreign born into the American way of life. They could have followed
the classic style of presenting archival footage mixed with interviews, as director
Marcel Ophiils did in The Sorrow and the Pity (1972) (collaboration of France's
Vichy government with Nazi Germany from 1940 to 1944; archival footage mixed
with interviews of collaborators, resistance fighters, and observers). They could have
varied the classic style by including dramatic re-enactments of actual events based on
forensic evidence, as director Errol Morris did in The Thin Blue Line (1988) (arguing
that a man was wrongly convicted for murder by a corrupt justice system in Dallas,
this documentary combined dramatic re-enactments of the crime and the investigation
with contemporaneous newspaper accounts and photographs of the case and with
interviews of the suspects, defense counsel, and trial witnesses). They could have
presented their film in a news format in the style of CBS Reports, e.g., Harvest of
-24-
Shame (1960, directed by Fred W. Friendly) (Edward R. Murrow reports on the plight
of migrant farm workers in America). They could have followed the style of cinema
verite, as directors Albert and David Maysles did in Salesman (1968) (Four relentless
door-to-door salesmen deal with constant rejection, homesickness and burnout as they
go across the country selling very expensive bibles to low-income Catholic families)
and Grey Gardens (1975) (the bizarre and reclusive lives of Edith Bouvier Beale and
her daughter Edie among cats and raccoons in a crumbling mansion in East
Hampton). They could have included in their documentary-style film slow pans
across sepia-toned photographs while professional actors read from news accounts,
letters, or diaries — a technique used to interesting effect by Ken Burns in The Civil
reach a young adult audience by using entertaining content and features" does not
lead to a contrary conclusion or even create a contrary impression. First of all, the
phrase "entertaining content" is not a term of art and is not necessarily understood to
be limited to comedy or puerile satire. Many movie viewers, even young adults,
would find a serious treatment of a topical issue to be entertaining. See, e.g., Super
mental effects of consuming fast food and an examination of the food culture in
America). Secondly, it's easy to list bona fide documentaries that a young adult
-25-
audience would likely find entertaining: Gimme Shelter (1970, directed by Albert and
David Maysles) (chronicle of Rolling Stones' 1969 tour, with much of the focus on
performance by the band on the roof of Apple Records in London); Woodstock (1970,
directed by Michael Wadleigh) (chronicle of legendary 1969 music festival); The Last
Waltz (1978, directed by Martin Scorsese) (final concert of The Band); Jazz On a
Summer's Day (1960, directed by Aram Avakian and Bert Stein) (1958 Newport Jazz
Festival).
Defendants could have told Psenicska that he was being asked to appear
by a fictional character whose raison d'etre was to provoke base reactions from the
unwitting. Defendants could have easily disclosed their intentions in the Consent
Agreement, but they wrote the document to obfuscate, not elucidate - a point
confirmed by Todd Lewis Schulman's signing a phony name. Of course, had they
risked the loss of spontaneity. Rather than face such risks, defendants chose to mask
their intentions with outright lies and sleazy business practices. That choice, however,
does not come without a consequence: Defendants cannot now impose their hidden
-26-
70 (1979) ("In short, instead of specifying to prospective students that they would
have to abide any consequences attributable to the instructor's own carelessness, the
defendant seems to have preferred the use of opaque terminology rather than suffer
the possibility of lower enrollment. But, while ... the law grudgingly accepts the
proposition that men may contract away their liability for negligently caused injuries,
they may do so only on the condition that their intention be expressed clearly and in
The district court ruled that the phrase "documentary-style film" was not
ambiguous, because according to the district court, the parties attributed "only one
meaning" to the phrase. A-49-50. The parties did no such thing, as shown by the very
A-33-34 [Def. Reply Mem. 5-6, cited by the district court at A-49]. Psenicska
presented an entirely different interpretation of the phrase. A-30-31 [PI. Mem. 4-5].
-27-
Rather than proceed from a stipulated meaning, the district court adopted
the broad meaning ascribed to the phrase by defendants and rejected the more narrow
meaning ascribed to the phrase by Psenicska: "the operative word in the phrase
can be drawn from the four corners of the Consent Agreement. See Kass v. Kass, 91
"operative word." Thus, the phrase is ambiguous. See Krumme v. WestPoint Stevens,
Inc., 238 F.3d 133, 138-139 (2d Cir. 2000) (contract language ambiguous "if it is
intelligent person who has examined the context of the entire integrated agreement").
Accord Sayers v. Rochester Tel. Corp., 7 F.3d 1091, 1095 (2d Cir. 1993).
against Psenicska rather than against defendants, both as the moving parties {Seiden
Assoc. Inc. v. ANC Holdings, Inc., 959 F.2d 425, 429 (2d Cir. 1992) (on a motion for
summary judgment, any ambiguity must be construed against the moving party)] and
as the drafters of the Consent Agreement [Lifson v. IN A Life Ins. Co. of New York,
333 F.3d 349, 353 (2d Cir. 2003) ("We construe ambiguities against the drafter");
Guardian Life Ins. Co. of America, Inc. v. Schaefer, 70 N.Y.2d 888, 890, 524
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N.Y.S.2d 377, 378 (1987) (ambiguities in contracts must be construed against the
548, 549 (1st Dep't 2005) (trial court properly construed ambiguity against drafter)].
Ironworkers Local 6 Pension Fund, 81 F.3d 1182, 1192 (2d Cir.1996) (in a contract
dispute, summary judgment may be granted only when the language of the contract
is unambiguous); Walk-In Medical Centers, Inc. v. Brewer Capital Corp., 818 F.2d
260 (2d Cir. 1987) (motion for summary judgment properly denied because the term
interpretations). The district court erred by ruling that the Consent Agreement on its
face is so clear that Psenicska has no chance of presenting a prima facie case. Cf.
Breed v. Ins. Co. of North America, 46 N.Y.2d 351, 355, 413 N.Y.S.2d 352, 355
(1978) (when relevant language has "a definite and precise meaning, unattended by
danger of misconception in the purport of the [contract] itself, and concerning which
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IV. PSENICSKA MAY MAINTAIN A CLAIM FOR
FRAUDULENT INDUCEMENT
N.Y.2d 556, 566, 301 N.Y.S.2d 508, 517 (1969) ("Fraud, however, has long been a
ground for setting aside a release"); Dickson v. City of New York, 43 A.D.3d 809, 842
N.Y.S.2d 27,28 (1 st Dep't 2007) (plaintiffs could seek rescission of release based on
misrepresentation); Skluth v. United Merchants & Mfrs., Inc., 163 A.D.2d 104, 106,
559 N.Y.S.2d 280, 282 (1st Dep'tl990) ("A release may, of course, be attacked for
the basic elements of fraud: a representation of material fact, the falsity of that
representation, knowledge by the party who made the representation that it was false
when made, justifiable reliance by the plaintiff, and resulting injury. Global Minerals
and Metals Corp. v. Holme, 35 A.D.3d 93, 98, 824 N.Y.S.2d 210, 214 (1st Dep't
2006). Each of those elements is properly pleaded in the Complaint (A-20-24), and
A.D.3d 873, 850 N.Y.S.2d 604, 608 (2d Dep't 2008) ("Here, the allegations of fraud
were sufficient to support a possible finding that the release signed by the plaintiff
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was obtained under circumstances which indicate unfairness").
The district court ruled that Psenicska could not "restyl[e] [his]
146, 153 (2d Cir.1995); Farber v. Breslin, 47 A.D.3d at 876, 850 N.Y.S.2d at 607.
In Brass v, American Film Technologies, Inc., this court listed three circumstances
in which a duty to disclose may arise under New York law: "first, where the party has
made a partial or ambiguous statement, on the theory that once a party has undertaken
to mention a relevant fact to the other party, it cannot give only half of the truth;
second, when the parties stand in a fiduciary or confidential relationship with each
other; and third, where one party possesses superior knowledge, not readily available
to the other, and knows that the other is acting on the basis of mistaken knowledge."
987 F.2d 142, 150 (2d Cir.1993) (quotations and citations omitted).
bait and switch. They told Psenicska that they would be producing one kind of motion
picture - a "documentary about the integration of foreign people into the American
way of life" - while concealing the fact that they were actually producing an entirely
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different kind of motion picture - a work of fiction mocking the idea of tolerance and
understanding among diverse peoples. The district court, relying solely on the "clear
wording" of the Consent Agreement, evidently believed that defendants had made a
full disclosure of their intentions. A-54. The Consent Agreement, however, is not at
all clear on the true nature of the Borat motion picture. By concluding otherwise, the
12(b) motion. When all reasonable inferences are drawn in his favor, the conclusion
must be that, at most, defendants made but a partial disclosure of their intentions with
The third circumstance is also present here. Not wise to the wiles of
Hollywood players, Psenicska could not have ascertained the true nature of the Borat
motion picture, a matter within defendants' exclusive knowledge. He was not shown
a script; he did not meet the director; he was not told there would be paid SAG actors,
nor was he given any reason to suspect there would be any; he was mislead by the
producer, who did not even give his real name. Everything appeared to be as
represented until the cameras started rolling. Defendants made certain that Psenicska
could not have access to all of the facts before they game him the Consent Agreement
to sign. Knowing that Monday, June 13, 2005, was not convenient for Psenicska,
Shulman called Psenicska on Friday, June 10, and said that the taping had to be on
June 13, and at a location miles from his home. A-20-21 . On the day of the taping,
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defendants kept Psenicska waiting for more than 90 minutes, so long that he was
about to leave - another tactic designed to disorient him. A-21. Having made sure
Psenicska was rushed for time, Shulman had Psenicska sign the Consent Agreement,
took it without leaving him with a copy, then got him involved in the "documentary-
style film." A-21-22. Defendants continued to keep Psenicska ignorant of the true
nature of the Borat motion picture even after his ride with Sasha Baron Cohen. No
one from the production crew would acknowledge his questions, and Shulman, on his
way to the next victim, did not return Psenicska's post-taping phone calls. A-23-24.
The district court nowhere explained how Psenicska could have learned
any of the true facts about the Borat motion picture and protected himself from
defendants' fraud. At this stage of the proceedings, the district court was wrong to
permit defendants to profit from their behavior. See Bloss v. Va'ad Harabonim of
Riverdale, 203 A.D.2d 36, 39-40, 610 N.Y.S.2d 197, 200 (1st Dep't 1994) ("it is
inequitable to allow a release to bar a claim where, as here, it is alleged that the
releasor had little time for investigation or deliberation and that it was the result of
evidence that the Consent Agreement was valid at its inception. Fleming v. Ponziani,
24 N.Y.2d 105, 112-13, 299 N.Y.S.2d 134, 141 (1969). At this stage of the
proceedings, the district court was wrong to rule that defendants had met their burden.
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V. PSENICSKA DID NOT DISCLAIM RELIANCE ON THE ORAL
MISREPRESENTATIONS
The district court ruled that the merger clause in the Consent Agreement
relied 'upon any promises or statements made by anyone about the nature of the Film
or the identity of any other Participants or persons involved in the Film.'" A-53
(quoting Consent Agreement). The district court was wrong, for two reasons.
First, the Consent Agreement does "not purport to waive defenses to its
own validity"; nor does the Consent Agreement contain a "disclaimer as to the
Manufacturers Hanover Trust Co. v. Yanakas, 7 F.3d 310, 317 (2d Cir. 1993). Also,
as in Yanakas, "There [is] no evidence that the scope or character of the [Consent
Agreement] was the product of any negotiations between the parties." Id. Psenicska's
acknowledgment that he was "not relying upon any promises or statement made by
anyone about the nature of the Film" does not preclude his claim that those words -
and the whole Consent Agreement itself- were procured by defendants' fraudulent
concealment of material facts about the nature of the Borat motion picture. See MLP
guarantor" and agreement that guarantee "shall be valid and unconditionally binding
-34-
upon Guarantor in any event and under all circumstances" does not "render
immaterial the defense that those words — and the whole Guaranty itself — were
recruited him were consistent with the terms of the Consent Agreement, which
contains no language even hinting at the true nature of the motion picture defendants
intended to produce. See Turkish v. Kasenetz, 27 F.3d 23, 27-28 (2d Cir.1994) (rule
disclaimer does not apply when party claims reliance "on written representations in
the contract itself). The disclaimer cannot be read to mean that defendants could
produce a film different from what was described in the Consent Agreement. If so,
then the misrepresentation of the motion picture in the Consent Agreement itself
renders the Consent Agreement unenforceable. See JPMorgan Chase Bank v. Liberty
Mutual Ins. Co., 189 F.Supp.2d 24, 27 (S.D.N.Y. 2002) (notwithstanding broad
disclaimer clause, surety bonds that misrepresent nature of transaction subject to "a
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inappropriate at this early stage of the proceedings.
CONCLUSION
(PML-7630)
Attorney for Plaintiff-Appellant
420 Lexington Avenue, Suite 2620
New York, New York 10170
212-599-0009
App. P. 32(a)(7)(B) because this brief contains 8,384 words, excluding the parts of
P. 32(a)(5) and the type style requirements of Fed. R. App. P. 32(a)(6) because this
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INE (PML-7630)
Attorney for Plaintiff-Appellant
420 Lexington Avenue, Suite 2620
New York, New York 10170
212-599-0009