Opinion
Civil Action No. 95-4975 (JBS).
November 4, 1999
ORDER FOR CONTEMPT AND INJUNCTIVE RELIEF
This matter came before this Court upon motion by defendants, Sony Music Entertainment, Inc. and Bob Dylan, for an order to hold plaintiff, James A. Damiano, in contempt and for related relief; and this Court having considered the parties' written submissions as well as oral argument on October 29, 1999 in which counsel for defendants appeared in person and plaintiff appeared in person; and for the reasons expressed in an Oral Opinion of October 29, 1999, as will be expanded upon in a forthcoming Memorandum Opinion;
IT IS this day of October 1999 hereby
ORDERED and ADJUDGED as follows:
1. Defendants' motion to hold plaintiff in willful contempt of this Court's Orders of March 14, 1996 and August 6, 1996 by knowingly disseminating information protected by those confidentiality orders be, and hereby is, GRANTED, and the plaintiff, James A. Damiano, shall be, and hereby is, ADJUDGED in contempt of court.
2. From now until this Court holds a plenary hearing on the remedy for contempt, plaintiff, as well as those persons acting on plaintiff's behalf, is forbidden from publicizing confidential discovery materials in any way, whether it be through the Internet, electronic mail, letter, or any other means. All information exchanged during discovery in the underlying case (and protected by this Court's March 14, 1996 and August 6, 1996 orders) remains protected. This includes plaintiff's depositions of witnesses, defendants' depositions of witnesses (including defendants' deposition of plaintiff himself), and documents and information exchanged during the court of discovery. This does not include, however, plaintiff's personal opinions about counsel, the parties, this case, or other persons.
3. Plaintiff is directed to immediately remove from the Internet and any other public forum all materials designated as confidential under the Court's orders of March 14, 1996 and August 6, 1996, as further enumerated above in paragraph two. Plaintiff, more specifically, must expunge confidential discovery material from existing websites. Plaintiff shall communicate with defense counsel and this Court by letter within ten (10) days of today's date to inform defense counsel and this Court of his efforts taken to comply with the order, including a list of any websites which contain the confidential information but from which he is unable to expunge the material due to limited technological resources, such that the parties may work together to remove that material which violates the March 14, 1996 and August 6, 1996 orders.
4. This Court will hold a plenary hearing on Friday, November 12, 1999 at 11:30 a.m. in Courtroom 4A . At that time, this Court will proceed to determine continuing and further remedies for this contempt.
5. To induce plaintiff's compliance with the Orders of March 14, 1996 and August 6, 1996, and with this injunctive order, each willful violation of this Order by plaintiff or by any person acting on his behalf will result in a fine of not less than $1,000 for each violation, and each day that a violation continues will be considered a separate violation for these purposes.
6. Defendants may obtain expedited discovery from plaintiff and from other persons consistent with Rules 26-37 and 45, Federal Rules of Civil Procedure, which is relevant to the issues of appropriate relief and compliance with this Order. Depositions may be convened upon three (3) days minimum notice, including document production.
7. The Clerk is directed to mail this Order to the following persons:
This Court's order does not preclude the possibility that the dissemination of such comments may be actionable upon other grounds. The instant order forbids dissemination only of those things covered by the March 14, 1996 and August 6, 1996 protective orders.
Steven Kramer, Esquire (former attorney for plaintiff)
Steven Kramer Associates 468 North Camden Drive Suite 200 Beverly Hills, CA 90210
Robert D. Church, Esquire (former attorney for plaintiff) 8 Evergreen Road Severna Park, M.D. 21146
Mr. James Damiano 115 Rt. 46 Mine Hill, N.J. 07803
Steven D. Johnson, Esquire (attorney for defendants) Hecker Brown Sherry and Johnson 24 East Redman Avenue P.O. Box 278 Haddonfield, N.J. 08033
Orin S. Snyder, Esquire (attorney for defendants) Parcher, Hayes Snyder 500 Fifth Avenue New York, N Y 10110
_________________________ JEROME B. SIMANDLE U.S. District Judge