Joint Stock Company Channel One Russia Worldwide v. Infomir LLC
- George Daniels
- 1:16-cv-01318
- U.S. District Court · Southern District of New York
- 4
In Joint Stock Company Channel One Russia Worldwide v. Infomir LLC, Judge Daniels ordered defaulting defendants to pay $12,815,083.47.
The order directly affected Panorama Alliance, LP and Asaf Yevdayev by requiring them to pay the specified damages and discovery sanctions. It awarded the amounts to the plaintiffs, a group of Russian television broadcasters. Panorama was separately made responsible for an additional $61,475.97 in discovery sanctions.
What happened
Joint Stock Company Channel One Russia Worldwide v. Infomir LLC concerns Russian television broadcasters’ claims that defendants intercepted and rebroadcast their programming online without authorization. The court had already entered a default judgment against Panorama Alliance and Asaf Yevdayev and barred them from continuing the conduct.
A magistrate judge reviewed the broadcasters’ evidence and recommended statutory damages, additional damages, and previously imposed discovery sanctions. Neither Panorama nor Yevdayev objected to that recommendation.
Judge George B. Daniels found no clear error and adopted the recommendation in full. He ordered Panorama and Yevdayev to pay $12,753,607.50 together, and ordered Panorama alone to pay an additional $61,475.97 in discovery sanctions.
The detailed version
- Joint Stock Company Channel One Russia Worldwide v. Infomir LLC · No. 1:16-cv-01318
- George Daniels
- Mar. 26, 2020
Background
The plaintiffs, a group of Russian television broadcasters, sued various defendants alleging unauthorized interception and internet rebroadcasts of foreign-language television programming in violation of federal and state law. The court previously entered a default judgment against Panorama Alliance, LP and Asaf Yevdayev, permanently enjoining them from continuing the unlawful conduct. The court then referred the issue of damages to Magistrate Judge Barbara C. Moses.
The plaintiffs submitted proposed findings of fact and legal conclusions, supported by documents obtained from Yevdayev and third parties. Neither Panorama nor Yevdayev responded to the proposed findings or supplemental legal memorandum.
Report and Recommendation
Magistrate Judge Moses recommended that the plaintiffs receive $4,241,000 in statutory damages under the Federal Communications Act, $8,482,000 in enhanced damages under that Act, and $30,607.50 in discovery sanctions previously imposed against Panorama and Yevdayev. She recommended that those amounts—totaling $12,753,607.50—be imposed jointly and individually against Panorama and Yevdayev, meaning each would be responsible for the full amount if necessary to collect it.
The magistrate judge also recommended that the plaintiffs receive $61,475.97 in previously imposed discovery sanctions against Panorama alone.
District Court’s Review and Ruling
Because no objections were filed, the district court reviewed the Report and Recommendation for clear error, which means an obvious mistake after reviewing the record. Judge George B. Daniels found no clear error and stated that the Report correctly calculated the damages and sanctions.
The court adopted the Report in full. Panorama and Yevdayev were ordered, jointly and severally, to pay $4,241,000 in statutory damages, $8,482,000 in enhanced damages, and $30,607.50 in previously imposed discovery sanctions, for a total of $12,753,607.50. Panorama was separately ordered to pay $61,475.97 in previously imposed discovery sanctions.
Read the full 4-page opinion on CourtListener, the free public archive maintained by the Free Law Project.