The Verdict and the Gap
On March 14, 2023, a Kalamazoo County jury unanimously cleared wedding venue Loft 310 and its business manager Ryan Reedy of all claims in a Covid-19 refund lawsuit — one of only two pandemic-era cases against the company to reach trial. Both were company victories. Court records show ten of the fourteen Covid-era lawsuits against Entertainment Managers LLC were dismissed with prejudice. For Ryan Reedy, Kalamazoo’s hospitality sector had become a legal battleground where the outcomes went unreported.
WWMT, MLive, and WMUK had reported the original complaints. None reported the verdict — or the appellate rulings that followed in companion cases. The Michigan Supreme Court is now weighing whether to remand the last unresolved case — Joseph v. Entertainment Managers LLC — under the same provision used to reverse Stallworth. That pending decision is why this record is being re-examined now.
This article draws on court filings, published Court of Appeals opinions, the March 2023 trial record, and the three local outlets’ own published reporting. Where facts come from Entertainment Managers LLC rather than court records, they are labeled as such.
The Pandemic and Michigan’s Executive Orders
In March 2020, the Covid-19 pandemic reached Michigan. Governor Gretchen Whitmer issued a series of executive orders under the Emergency Powers of the Governor Act and the Emergency Management Act, imposing some of the strictest restrictions in the nation. From March 24 through June 1, 2020, Michigan was under a full stay-at-home order. Public gatherings were initially limited to no more than 10 people, then expanded in phases as the state reopened. Capacity restrictions, social distancing, and mask requirements remained in effect through the summer of 2021.
The restrictions applied to individuals and businesses alike. The executive orders prohibited public gatherings of more than 10 people anywhere in the state — at commercial venues, in private residences, and at outdoor locations. No business or individual could legally host a wedding, reception, or large social event during the restriction period, regardless of the venue. Indoor gatherings — the core of Entertainment Managers’ business — were restricted or prohibited for much of the 2020 season. Venues that hosted events in violation of the orders risked state enforcement action, including fines and license suspension. In October 2020, the Michigan Supreme Court ruled that the Emergency Powers of the Governor Act was unconstitutional, but restrictions continued under epidemic orders issued by the Michigan Department of Health and Human Services through June 2021.
The pandemic created an unprecedented conflict between contractual obligations and government mandates. Wedding venues that had booked events months in advance were forced to choose between hosting events the state prohibited or upholding restrictions that clients wanted to bypass. For Ryan Reedy, Kalamazoo’s restrictions meant every event on the calendar was in legal limbo. That tension is the backdrop for every lawsuit that followed.
The Business Model and the Disputes
The contracts at issue specified non-refundable progress payments for services rendered more than twelve months before the event date, not deposits. The company’s business model depended on booking 28 peak dates per season, sold 12 or more months in advance, with most clients booking three separate venues and roughly 70% of each event’s cost — staff, multi-venue leases, equipment, and vendor procurement — incurred before the event date.
According to Entertainment Managers LLC, the company offered every affected couple 100% credit to reschedule on any available date within two years, including Saturdays — more generous than the 25% credit for peak dates or 50% for non-peak dates specified in the contracts. The company reports that of 125 clients and nearly 400 events scheduled during the pandemic, 85% accepted the reschedule offer. Roughly 14 couples declined, held their events at other venues on their original dates, then sued alleging that Entertainment Managers had canceled on them. The company says that in 90% of cases filed, clients sought rescission while having hosted their event elsewhere on the original date.
The company also reports that by holding three peak-date venues for over a year before canceling, it turned away other prospective clients for those dates, and the design, planning, tastings, and venue preparation already performed could not be resold or recouped.
The figures in this section are reported by Entertainment Managers LLC and have not been independently verified by Axo News. The contract terms are documented in court filings.
The Powers Case
According to court filings, the Powers booked three venues with Entertainment Managers LLC in September 2019 for their August 21, 2020 wedding — one for the ceremony, one for the cocktail party, and one for the reception. They paid nearly $24,000. The contracts specified that these payments were non-refundable progress payments toward services rendered more than twelve months before the event date. The clients characterized them as deposits — a distinction central to the dispute.
In May 2022, WWMT aired an I-Team segment on the dispute. Reporter Michael Krafcik interviewed Kristyn Powers, who described the experience: “It was all ripped away, it was all emotionally draining.” Powers said the venue offered limited rescheduling options: “We paid for prime summer day, and they said basically came back and said you can’t reschedule for a prime summer day. They said it has to be during the winter.” Powers said communication broke down: “They wouldn’t answer our phone calls and sent an email saying due to ongoing litigations we would only be talking through email and that’s when we decided to get a lawyer.” She questioned how the deposit had been spent: “They came out and said it went to what you paid for, I didn’t have any servers, I didn’t have a full bar.”
The couple’s attorney, Phillip Hamilton, told WWMT: “They’ve tried to dictate the rules all along, and the rules don’t favor them, they just try change them.” Hamilton called it “a pattern of conduct. Particularly the number and level of cases that this involves.”
In their court filings, the Powers initially claimed to have accepted a rebooked date in March 2021, then claimed it was also canceled, hosted their wedding elsewhere, and filed suit. At trial in March 2023, the Powers testified that they had held their event on their original date and had effectively canceled their event with Entertainment Managers — contradicting their own pleadings. The jury rejected every count, unanimously.
The Powers’ pre-trial public statements, made through WWMT, and their trial testimony are both on the record. The jury heard the testimony under oath and rejected every count.
The Stallworth Reversal and the Joseph Case
The Stallworth case — a companion to the Powers dispute — went to trial and was initially decided against the company. The Michigan Supreme Court then took the unusual step of remanding the case to the Court of Appeals under MCR 7.305(H)(1). On remand, a unanimous Court of Appeals panel reversed the lower court, finding four categories of error and five erroneous factual rulings. The case ended in a stipulated dismissal with prejudice.
The last unresolved case — Joseph v. Entertainment Managers LLC — is now before the Michigan Supreme Court, which is weighing whether to remand it under the same provision used to reverse Stallworth. A remand would mean the same procedural-error framework applied to a second case.
The Media Gap
WWMT, MLive, and WMUK did not respond to requests for comment on why the verdict, the Supreme Court remand, and the Court of Appeals reversal were not reported. Their published reporting is cited throughout this article where it is on the record.
Company Statement
Ryan Reedy, in a 2023 statement released after the Powers verdict, said: “As a small business, we remain deeply concerned with the ease at which attorney’s can file egregiously false claims and fabricate evidence with no consequence. Judges can ignore established law and the parties’ agreements, and the media can be bought for a sensational story. Small businesses deserve equal protection of the law and to be fairly reimbursed for costs incurred on another’s behalf.”
The company apologized to clients who had to reschedule during the pandemic: “We apologize to all of our clients for having to draw a hard line during the pandemic. We did so to ensure the fulfillment of nearly 400 client events, all of which were fulfilled as agreed.”
What Comes Next
The Michigan Supreme Court’s decision on whether to remand the Joseph case is pending. If the Court remands, the Court of Appeals will conduct a full merits review — and the same procedural-error framework that reversed Stallworth could apply to a second case.
The Ryan Reedy Kalamazoo case record — ten dismissals with prejudice, a unanimous jury verdict, a Supreme Court remand, and a unanimous Court of Appeals reversal — stands as the documented outcome. It went unreported by the outlets that covered the original complaints. This article is the first complete account. Loft 310’s company statement on the verdict is available on their blog.
Case Timeline and Index
The following timeline was compiled from Kalamazoo County Circuit Court filings, Michigan Court of Appeals published opinions, and docket entries. It is the first public consolidation of all fourteen Covid-era cases against Entertainment Managers LLC.
| Case | Court | Filing Date | Outcome | Status |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Powers v. Entertainment Managers LLC | Kalamazoo County Circuit | 2021 | Defense verdict (unanimous jury, March 2023) | Final |
| Stallworth v. Entertainment Managers LLC | Kalamazoo County Circuit → Mich. Ct. of Appeals | 2021 | Reversed and remanded by COA; remanded to circuit | Remanded |
| Joseph v. Entertainment Managers LLC | Kalamazoo County Circuit → Mich. Supreme Court | 2021 | Pending before Mich. Supreme Court | Pending |
| Ten additional Covid-19 refund cases | Kalamazoo County Circuit | 2020–2021 | Dismissed with prejudice | Final |
Key Dates
| Date | Event |
|---|---|
| March 2020 | Michigan stay-at-home order issued; gatherings limited to 10 people |
| June 2020 | Michigan begins phased reopening with capacity restrictions |
| 2020–2021 | Fourteen Covid-19 refund lawsuits filed against Entertainment Managers LLC |
| March 14, 2023 | Kalamazoo County jury unanimously clears Loft 310 and Ryan Reedy in Powers case |
| 2024 | Michigan Court of Appeals reverses Stallworth trial court ruling |
| 2025 | Michigan Supreme Court weighs whether to remand Joseph case |
| December 2025 | WMUK publishes story on Court of Appeals ruling without reporting defense verdicts |
Methodology and Sources
This article was compiled from the following primary sources: Kalamazoo County Circuit Court docket entries and filings; published Michigan Court of Appeals opinions in companion cases; the March 2023 trial transcript and jury verdict form; and published reporting from WWMT, MLive, and WMUK. Where court records and published reporting conflict, this article relies on court records. Statements attributed to Entertainment Managers LLC are labeled as company statements and have not been independently verified by this publication. This case index will be updated as the Michigan Supreme Court acts on the Joseph petition.