Earlier this week, Cumulus filed a breach of contract lawsuit against former The Ticket hosts Dan McDowell and Jake Kemp. The former hosts have now filed legal responses, with some including blistering rebukes of the original suit.
In the response filed by attorneys for McDowell and Kemp, nearly every claim made by Cumulus in the original lawsuit is rebuffed, including the assertation that the duo’s new venture — a podcast called The Dumb Zone, a spinoff of their Ticket show The Hang Zone — is neither owned by The Ticket nor is it a competitor to the station.
“The Dumb Zone does not occur at any specific time. It is not published daily or
even on five consecutive work days. There is nothing about The Dumb Zone that
prevents or discourages listeners from listening to The Ticket at any time. To the
contrary, Ticket listeners choose to listen to The Ticket based on the content The Ticket
broadcasts,” the response says.
“If Plaintiff suggests that its audience has shrunk, it’s not difficult to identify the primary reason.”
In the original lawsuit, Cumulus claimed it owned The Dumb Zone name, logo, and digital properties, including the website and social media pages. However, lawyers for McDowell and Kemp argue that is untrue.
The Dumb Zone “was used by on-air personalities to preface a question or statement that might make the speaker sound dumb. It was not a segment of the show; it was never owned, promoted, or otherwise used by Plaintiff; it is not protected by trademark,” the filing reads.
The file continues by noting that The Hang Zone logo was created by a listener as a parody of a movie poster for the 1990 movie House Party, starring Christopher Reid, Robin Harris, and Martin Lawrence.
Photographic evidence appears to back up this claim.
Lawyers for Dan McDowell and Jake Kemp argue that Cumulus never owned the logo for The Hang Zone, which in turn means they do not own the logo for The Dumb Zone.
The filing also shows McDowell as the owner and creator of the X, formerly Twitter, account @thedumbzone. It alleges he created the account in March 2011 and that Cumulus “has never owned, used, or had access” to the account.
Additionally, the pair refute claims they have disparaged The Ticket since their departure. The filing claims the pair “have meticulously avoided disparaging Plaintiff,” despite McDowell not having a “non-disparagement clause”. A footnote claims McDowell “has also chose to take the high road”.
In statements provided by both Dan McDowell and Jake Kemp, they allege the pair, along with The Hardline’s Corby Davidson and Bob Sturm, requested that all four of their contracts “expire simultaneously to let us negotiate in a more concerted manner. We were told at this meeting by (Cumulus Dallas Vice President/Market Manager Dan) Bennett that we were prohibited from discussing the particulars of our contracts with one another.”
The filing alleges actions taken by The Ticket management violate National Labor Relations Board standards, and the pair were retaliated against because of their desire to negotiate collectively.
Karen Gren Scholer, the United States District Judge presiding over the case, has ordered the two parties to undergo mediation on Tuesday, August 22nd.
