Moonbug Entertainment Limited v. Babybus Network Technology Co., Ltd

Background

The court reviewed Babybus’s disclosures, Moonbug’s cross-disclosures, and the parties’ objections in advance of the July 19, 2023 trial proceedings. The order concerns proposed witnesses, trial exhibits, demonstratives, and deposition designations. It applies provisions of the Federal Rules of Evidence, including rules concerning hearsay, relevance, unfair prejudice, completeness, and summaries of voluminous records.

Rulings on Moonbug’s Objections

The court overruled Moonbug’s objections to several of Christian Tregillis’s demonstrative slides concerning RedToolBox data and revenue and profit information. The court stated that the slides could be used as a basis for an expert opinion and, for one group of slides, required Babybus to add citations. It also overruled objections to several Tregillis schedules and other materials, subject to Babybus clearly identifying the scope of the data on which Tregillis relied.

The court sustained Moonbug’s objection to the Exercise Song portion of one disclosure but overruled the objection as to More Nursery Rhymes and Kids Songs. It sustained objections to Denise Denson’s expert report, Saperstein’s report exhibit, and several materials involving purported allocations of Babybus personnel costs relating to Super JoJo. The court stated that invoiced expenses were not necessarily excluded merely because allocated personnel costs were excluded.

For Ellen Seiter’s demonstrative slides, the court overruled and sustained the objections in part. Seiter’s slides were allowed only to the extent they remained consistent with her expert report and the court’s prior rulings. The court sustained objections to some slides and materials that were outside the report, untimely disclosed, based on undisclosed materials, or presented expert reports as evidence. Some other slides and screenshots were admitted over objection, including certain materials that the court said could support Seiter’s opinion but could not be used as substantive evidence. The court also sustained objections to the use of trial transcripts as evidence when Babybus had not included the required transcript text.

The court reserved judgment on several items, including certain internet URLs, schedules lacking citations to underlying evidence, summaries of views and damages, and some trial demonstratives. It stated that some demonstratives could be commented on even though they were not evidence. The order also noted that some materials might be used for impeachment.

Rulings on Babybus’s Objections

The court overruled Babybus’s objection to the parties’ previously used demonstratives and permitted both sides to use them, while preserving earlier objections. It sustained objections to several expert reports and related exhibits, including reports by Fran Krause, because expert reports were not independently admissible evidence. The court reserved judgment on Seiter’s November 22, 2022 report and appendices, possibly for impeachment.

Disposition and Effect

The order grants no final judgment on the underlying claims. Instead, it resolves individual evidentiary objections by sustaining, overruling, overruling and sustaining in part, or reserving judgment on them. Judge Edward M. Chen signed the order on July 18, 2023.