In a new low for dating culture, a Texas man is suing his date for texting during a movie.

Brandon Vezmar of Austin has filed a suit in small-claims court, demanding $17.31, the price of a movie ticket, from the woman who he took to see a 3D showing of "Guardians of the Galaxy, Vol. 2" at an Austin movie theater earlier this month.

Vezmar said he paid for the woman’s ticket, and would like the money back.

“It was kind of a first date from hell,” Vezmar said in a report from the Statesman. “This is like one of my biggest pet peeves,” he said of his date’s texting habits.

The movie was the first date for the pair who met online, the Austin-American Statesman reports. Vezmar says the woman used her phone “10-20 times” in a fifteen minute period, and declined his requests to stop. When he suggested she text in the hall, she left the theater and didn’t return.

The woman, who has asked to not have her name used, said she was texting discreetly, and only sent a few messages. She did not initially know a case had been filed against her.

Contact between the pair didn’t stop at the theater. The woman says Vezmar called her to ask for the money he spent on the date, but she refused, because, “he took me out on a date.”

The woman told the Austin-American Statesman that she plans to seek a protective order against Vezmar for contacting her younger sister, asking for the money.

Vezmar has denied this claim, and did not respond to request for comment by time of publishing.

Vezmar's actions may seem trivial to some, for others it's a look into the larger concerns women have about male entitlement on the dating scene.

While the sum demanded is modest, the mere existence of the case raises concerns over the use of courts to coerce based on the notion that women owe a specific, exchangeable experience to men they meet for a date.

Vezmar has commented openly on the case through his personal twitter, suggesting that the situation does not have to do with gender roles.

While the case has not yet been settled, Alamo Drafthouse Cinema, which is known for its anti-texting stance, has offered Vezmar a $17.31 gift certificate to “put this to bed,” the Austin-American Statesman reports.