Summary
awarding license fee as damages on plaintiff's conversion claim in light of evidence establishing amount of fee
Summary of this case from Integrated Sports Media, Inc. v. MendezOpinion
No. C 12-2244 PJH
03-27-2013
J&J SPORTS PRODUCTIONS, INC., Plaintiff, v. JUAN C. LOPEZ BANUELOS, et al., Defendants.
ORDER ADOPTING REPORT AND
RECOMMENDATION AS MODIFIED
AND GRANTING DEFAULT JUDGMENT
The court has reviewed Magistrate Judge Beeler's Report and Recommendation ("report") re plaintiff's motion for default judgment, as well as plaintiff's objections to the report. In its objections, plaintiff J&J Sports Productions, Inc. ("plaintiff") objects to three specific findings of Judge Beeler's report: (1) the recommended award of statutory damages in the amount of $1,000; (2) the recommended award of enhanced damages in the amount of $5,000; and (3) the recommended denial of default judgment on plaintiff's conversion claim.
In addition to filing objections to the report, plaintiff also filed a motion for de novo determination of its motion for default judgment. The motion addresses the same three issues addressed in the objections, and in general, is substantively identical to the objections. Because the court finds that plaintiff properly raised these issues in its objections, the motion for de novo determination is DENIED as moot.
As to both issues (1) and (2), plaintiff argues that the recommended damages awards do not adequately address deterrence, which plaintiff argues is a "primary goal" of damage awards for piracy. Plaintiff argues that the report "does not address the deterrence factor at all." However, the report does cite "the need to deter piracy" as one of the factors to consider when awarding damages, and further notes that "there is no allegation that Mr. Banuelos is a repeat offender." See Report at 8. Further, as plaintiff concedes, the report "cites to cases from this district that made similar damages awards." Thus, the court finds that Judge Beeler did indeed properly consider the role of deterrence when recommending a damages award, and hereby OVERRULES plaintiff's objections as to the recommended amount of statutory damages and enhanced damages. Judge Beeler's report is ADOPTED and default judgment is GRANTED as to plaintiff's claim under 47 U.S.C. § 553.
As to issue (3), plaintiff has submitted new evidence that purports to establish the amount of damages suffered as a result of defendant's alleged conversion. As plaintiff points out, this court has discretion to consider new evidence introduced in objections to a magistrate judge's recommendation. U.S. v. Howell, 231 F.3d 615, 621-22 (9th Cir. 2000). While the court will accept the newly-introduced evidence of damages in this case, it cautions plaintiff that such requests may be denied in the future, if plaintiff continues to withhold evidence during briefing on its motion for default judgment. The court notes that, in at least one previous instance, plaintiff similarly failed to produce any evidence of damages for its conversion claim until after the hearing on its motion for default judgment. See J&J Sports v. Parayno, No. C 12-1704, Dkt. 16 (ordering supplemental briefing after noting that "the amount of the license fee that was lost is not in an affidavit."). In this case, because plaintiff has introduced evidence that the relevant license fee was $4,200, the court hereby GRANTS default judgment on plaintiff's conversion claim, and awards damages in the amount of $4,200.
Plaintiff's claims under 47 U.S.C. § 605 and Cal. Bus. & Prof. Code § 17200 are DISMISSED with prejudice, for the reasons set forth in the report.
IT IS SO ORDERED.
____________________
PHYLLIS J. HAMILTON
United States District Judge