VEZZA et al v. DEMOLA et al

Filing 13

OPINION AND ORDER granting 10 Motion enforce the settlement; within 30 days Plaintiff shall submit an affidavit of attorney's fees, etc. Signed by Judge William J. Martini on 9/26/14. (gh, )

NOT FOR PUBLICATION
UNITED STATES DISTRICT COURT
FOR THE DISTRICT OF NEW JERSEY

RICHARD VEZZA and KEVIN WHITMER,

Civ. No. 2:13-CV-06983 (WJM)

Plaintiffs,
OPINION AND ORDER
v.
ALFRED DEMOLA,
Defendant.

THIS MATTER comes before this Court on the unopposed motion of Richard
Vezza and Kevin Whitmer (“Plaintiffs”) to enforce a settlement agreement entered into
with Alfred Demola (“Defendant”). In November 2013, Plaintiffs – who are newspapers
executives of the Newark Morning Ledger Co. – filed an action against Defendant
seeking, inter alia, a Permanent Injunction against Defendant for violations of the
Cybersquatting Consumer Protection Act, 15 U.S.C. § 8131, and the Cyberpiracy
Prevention Section of the Lanham Act.

In their Complaint, Plaintiffs allege that

Defendant registered their online domain names in a manner that redirected those names
to pornographic websites. Plaintiffs allege that Defendant took this action in retaliation
against Plaintiffs for publishing negative articles regarding Defendant’s business
practices.
On May 16, 2014, the parties entered into, and this Court so ordered, a Permanent
Injunction By Consent (“the Permanent Injunction”). The matter was closed on that same
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day. Under the Permanent Injunction, Plaintiffs agreed to settle their lawsuit. In return,
Defendant agreed to transfer the domain names to Plaintiffs within 10 days and refrain
from registering the domain names of Plaintiffs or their business associates in the future.
The Permanent Injunction also stipulated that the Parties would enter into a Confidential
Settlement Agreement (“the Settlement Agreement”), which it appears the parties had
already entered into in February 2014.
On August 20, 2014, Plaintiffs moved for this Court to enforce the Settlement
Agreement. According to Plaintiffs, the Settlement Agreement provided that Defendant
would pay Plaintiffs $10,000 within 45 days of executing the Settlement Agreement.
Plaintiffs allege that Defendant has violated the Settlement Agreement by paying
Plaintiffs only $5,000. Plaintiffs request that this Court enter judgment against Defendant
for $5,000 plus fees, costs, and interest.
After conducting an in camera review of the Settlement Agreement, the Court
concludes that Defendant has violated the terms of the Agreement. The Settlement
Agreement unequivocally provides that Defendant is required to pay Plaintiffs $10,000
within 45 business days of executing the agreement. The record shows that Defendant
has paid Plaintiffs only $5,000, despite receiving numerous deadline extensions from
Plaintiffs’ counsel.

The 45-day period having long expired, the Court agrees that

Defendant has violated the Settlement Agreement and will grant Plaintiffs’ motion to
enforce the Agreement’s terms.

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For the foregoing reasons and for good cause shown;
IT IS on this 26th day of September 2014, hereby,
ORDERED that Plaintiffs’ Motion to Enforce Settlement Agreement and Enter
Judgment is GRANTED; and it is hereby
ORDERED that judgment be entered against Defendant Alfred Demola in the
amount of $5,000 plus attorney’s fees, costs, and interest on that amount at the applicable
statutory pre-judgment rate accruing from the date of the execution of the Settlement
Agreement; and it is hereby
ORDERED that Plaintiffs’ counsel shall submit an Affidavit of Attorney’s Fees
within 30 days of entry of this Order.

/s/ William J. Martini
WILLIAM J. MARTINI, U.S.D.J.

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