BSO, California photographer embroiled in payment tussle over 2012 Pops concerts

A California photographer who claims the BSO owes him lots of money for the photographs it used for some Boston Pops concerts last year is, of course, suing.

The BSO replies that the photographer offered his work for free in exchange for letting him use the BSO name to try to drum up sponsorships for the "Visions of America" concerts. Since he couldn't find any sponsors, the BSO says it doesn't owe him the time of day.

Joseph Sohm originally filed his lawsuit in US District Court in San Francisco. Last week, a judge there agreed with a request from the BSO that, short of just dismissing the suit as it would prefer, he transfer it to federal court in Boston because not only does the BSO not conduct business in California, all of the negotiations and performances took place in Boston. Letting the suit continue in California, the judge ruled:

Plaintiff's filing of an action against Defendant in a forum thousands of miles from where Defendant resides and that has little or no connection to the events at issue, raises the potential that Plaintiff chose an inconvenient forum to unfairly increase Defendant's costs and obtain an advantage in this litigation. The interests of justice therefore weigh in favor of transfer to the District of Massachusetts.