PORTLAND, Maine — A lawsuit filed by Maine State Music Theatre against a New Jersey high school, nearby theater company and a New Jersey man over the rental of costumes for the musical “Monty Python’s Spamalot” has been settled out of court.
U.S. District Court Magistrate Judge John H. Rich III dismissed the suit late last month without costs or attorney fees to any party, according to court documents.
Attorney Matthew S. Warner of Preti Flaherty, who represented the Algonquin Arts Theatre in New Jersey, last week declined to discuss the case, saying that terms of the settlement are confidential.
“My clients are just glad to put it behind them,” Warner said.
Court documents dismissing the suit did not make public the terms of the settlement. Maine State Music Theatre staff and board members declined to comment on terms of the settlement.
Stephanie Dupal, managing director at Maine State Music Theatre, on Monday referred calls to attorney Meredith Eilers of Bernstein Shur. Eilers did not return calls seeking comment, nor did attorneys representing the Edison Township Board of Education and Nicholas Kaminski, the New Jersey man originally named as a defendant in the suit.
In February 2014, the Brunswick summer theater company, which includes a division that rents costumes and props for frequently performed musicals, filed the lawsuit in Cumberland County Superior Court. Maine State Music Theatre, sued Edison High School in Edison, New Jersey, Kaminski, also of Edison, and the Algonquin Arts Theatre in Manasquan, New Jersey, alleging that the defendants owed the Brunswick theater nearly $41,000 for missing items and those damaged beyond repair, nearly $4,000 in dry cleaning fees, $15,000 in rental fees and $151,695 in late charges.
The costume package, which includes a full set of original costumes from the London production of “Spamalot,” was rented to Edison High School for $10,000, rather than the usual $15,000, in February 2013 by Kaminski, according to the complaint. Kaminski allegedly lent the costume package to the Algonquin theater troupe without permission from MSMT.
Warner, on behalf of the Algonquin, was able to move the case to federal court because the defendants are located outside Maine.
The high school production ran from March 13 to 23, 2013, the complaint states. Halfway through the run of that show, Kaminski allegedly asked MSMT whether the Algonquin could use the costume package for its show, which ran April 12-21, 2013. MSMT personnel said the company would have to pay the full $15,000 rental fee, the complaint states.
Edison High School paid the rental fee but Algonquin never did, according to the complaint.
The costume package was due back in Brunswick on April 10, 2013, the complaint said, but Kaminski allegedly asked for an extension on April 1, 2013, because he was busy performing in Algonquin’s production. The Spamalot costumes and props were returned on April 24, 2013, but not in the condition required by the contract, MSMT claimed.
Staff reporter Judy Harrison contributed to this report.