Joe Hand Promotions, Inc. v. TL Productions, L.L.C. et al

Filing 13

MEMORANDUM OPINION: IT IS HEREBY ORDERED that plaintiff Joe Hand Promotions, Inc. shall recover $150,000.00 in statutory damages from defendant TL Productions, LLC and $350.00 in costs. IT IS FURTHER ORDERED that a separate Default Judgment shall issue contemporaneously herewith. Signed by Honorable Rodney W. Sippel on 6/10/10. (ARL)

U N I T E D STATES DISTRICT COURT E A S T E R N DISTRICT OF MISSOURI E A S T E R N DIVISION J O E HAND PROMOTIONS, INC., Plaintiff, vs. T L PRODUCTIONS, LLC. , Defendant. ) ) ) ) ) C a s e No. 4:09CV503MLM ) C o n s o lid a te d with 4:09CV1633CAS ) ) )

M E M O R A N D U M OPINION T h is matter is before the court on plaintiff's Motion for Default Judgment a g a in s t defendant TL Productions, LLC. [Doc. 29] 1 The Clerk of the Court has e n te re d the default of TL Productions, LLC. (Doc. 32) A Default Hearing was held o n May 26, 2010. Defendant TL Productions, LLC received notice of the Default H e a rin g by hand delivery on May 24, 2010 to its registered agent, Frank J. Schmidt. S e e Doc. 35. At the time of the Hearing, Vincent D. Vogler appeared for plaintiff. No o n e appeared for defendant TL Productions, LLC. Plaintiff presented evidence in c lu d in g copies of 47 U.S.C. § 553 (Unauthorized Reception of Cable Services and 4 7 U.S.C. § 605 (Unauthorized Publication or Use of Communications). Following th e Hearing, plaintiff submitted the affidavit of Vincent D. Vogler in support of p lain tiff's prayer for damages. (Doc. 41)

The individual defendants, Thomas M. Gray and Louise Gray have file d for bankruptcy protection. Therefore the case is stayed as to them. Plaintiff filed a Motion to Dismiss the Grays and that Motion will be ruled by separate order.

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FACTS T h e facts are unopposed and therefore admitted. By contract, plaintiff Joe H a n d Promotions, Inc. paid for and was thereafter granted the exclusive nationwide te le v is io n distribution rights to the Ultimate Fighting Championship 67: "All or N o t h i n g " telecast which took place on February 3, 2007. This included all underc a rd bouts and fight commentary encompassed in the television broadcast of the e v e n t, hereinafter referred to as the "Program". Pursuant to contract, plaintiff Joe Hand Promotions, Inc. entered into s u b s eq u e n t sub-licensing agreements with various commercial entities throughout N o r th America, including entities within the state of Missouri, by which it granted th e s e entities limited sub-licensing rights, specifically the rights to publicly exhibit th e Program to the patrons within their respective establishments, i.e., hotels, ra c etra c k s , casinos, bars, taverns, restaurants, social clubs, etc. W ith full knowledge that the Program was not to be intercepted, received and e x h ib ite d by entities unauthorized to do so, the above-named defendant and/or its ag en ts, servants, workmen or employees did unlawfully publish, divulge and exhibit th e Program at the time of its transmission at The Feisty Bulldog, a sports bar lo c a te d at 720 North First Street, St. Louis, Missouri 63102. This unauthorized in te rc e p tio n , publication, exhibition and divulgence by defendant was done willfully a n d for the purpose of direct or indirect commercial advantage or private financial g a in .

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P la in tiff filed its Complaint in this court under 47 U.S.C. § 605 for the K n o w in g Interception, Receipt and Exhibition of Unauthorized Programming s ee k in g damages allowed by the statute in the amount of $100,000.00 for the willful v io la tio n of this statute. P la in tiff further sought damages against the defendant for its knowing v io la tio n of 47 U.S.C. § 553 for the Unauthorized Interception, Exhibition, P u b lic a tio n and Divulgence of the Program, all of which were prohibited by 47 U.S.C. § 553 seeking the maximum statutory damages in the amount of $50,000.00 for the w illfu l violation of this statute. T h e defendant TL Productions, LLC, a limited liability company, d/b/a The F e is ty Bulldog, has terminated all active operations at 720 North First Street in the city of St. Louis where it previously operated a sports bar. C o n g r e s s enacted the provisions contained in 47 U.S.C. § 553 et seq., in order to attempt to control the unauthorized interception and unauthorized use of p ro g ra m m in g which parties such as plaintiff had an absolute right to control and c h a rg e for the distribution of to the consumers in this country. C O N C L U S IO N B as e d on the above facts and the exhibits and affidavits submitted, the court f i n d s that plaintiff is entitled to statutory damages under 47 U.S.C. § 605 of $ 10 0 ,0 0 0 .0 0 and to statutory damages under 47 U.S.C. § 553 of $50,000.00 as well a s attorneys' fees and court costs. Defendant has waived attorneys' fees.

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A c c o rd i n g ly , I T IS HEREBY ORDERED that plaintiff Joe Hand Promotions, Inc. shall re c o v e r $150,000.00 in statutory damages from defendant TL Productions, LLC and $ 3 5 0 .0 0 in costs. I T IS FURTHER ORDERED that a separate Default Judgment shall issue c o n te m p o r a n e o u s ly herewith.

R O D N E Y S. SIPPEL U N I T E D STATES DISTRICT JUDGE

D a te d this 10th day of June, 2010.

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