Joint Stock Company Channel One Russia Worldwide v. Infomir LLC

Background

Infomir LLC sought monetary sanctions under Federal Rule of Civil Procedure 37(b) after the plaintiffs violated discovery orders requiring production of electronically stored information related to Christopher Vidulich’s May 2016 network investigation. The investigation had supported an affidavit stating that Infomir streamed unlicensed content, but the later-produced packet-capture file showed that the identified website was not the source of the video content Vidulich viewed.

In a September 2019 sanctions order, the court found that the plaintiffs violated the discovery orders and that the plaintiffs and their counsel made a series of bad-faith false statements about the investigation, the related electronic evidence, and their discovery compliance. The court barred the plaintiffs from introducing or relying on the Vidulich affidavit and other evidence based on the investigation, subject to an exception if Infomir used the evidence. The court also ruled that the plaintiffs and their counsel had to pay Infomir reasonable attorneys’ fees, expert fees, and other costs caused by the violations. The opinion states that the United States District Judge later overruled the plaintiffs’ objections to that sanctions order.

The Fee Request and Objections

Infomir requested $220,446 in attorneys’ fees, $85,889.36 in expert and consultant fees, and $2,000.63 in other expenses. The attorneys’ fees covered work to obtain and enforce the discovery orders, prepare for and conduct Vidulich’s deposition, litigate the sanctions motion, and prepare the fee application. The expert fees primarily concerned forensic work on Vidulich’s laptop and preparation for and participation in the sanctions hearing.

The plaintiffs argued that the request should be denied or substantially reduced. They challenged the redactions in Infomir’s billing records, argued that some time entries concerned work outside the scope of the sanctions order, and asserted that certain hours were excessive or miscalculated. Regarding the expert fees, the plaintiffs conceded that Stroz Friedberg performed the work but argued that the award should be limited to $39,524.15 because the redacted invoices prevented review of the work and suggested possible duplication or inefficiency.

Court’s Analysis

The court applied the rule requiring reimbursement of reasonable expenses, including attorneys’ fees, caused by violations of discovery orders. For attorneys’ fees, it evaluated reasonable hourly rates and reasonable hours. It found that the requested rates for attorneys Stewart M. Leviss and Evan Silagi were consistent with prevailing rates in the district and were not challenged by the plaintiffs.

The court found that some time entries appeared to concern tasks outside the sanctions order, including work on a later-withdrawn summary judgment motion. Because Infomir had already reduced certain block-billed entries by 25 percent, the court imposed an additional 5 percent across-the-board reduction for work beyond the order’s scope. It imposed a further 15 percent reduction on compensable 2018 hours and an additional 5 percent reduction for travel time billed at full rates and excessive internal conferencing. The court did not impose an additional reduction for redactions.

The court awarded $174,815.40 in attorneys’ fees: $117,930 for 2018 work, $48,648.60 for 2019 work, and $8,236.80 for preparing the fee application. It also found the expert expenses supported by admissible evidence and reasonably related to the discovery violations. To account for possible duplication and inefficiency, it reduced the requested expert and consultant fees by 10 percent and awarded $77,300.42. The court awarded the full $2,000.63 in other expenses because the plaintiffs did not oppose those amounts.

Disposition

Judge Barbara Moses ordered Infomir awarded monetary sanctions totaling $254,116.45. The amount consisted of $174,815.40 in attorneys’ fees, $77,300.42 in consultant fees, and $2,000.63 in other expenses. The sanctions were assessed jointly and severally against Joint Stock Company "Channel One Russia Worldwide," Closed Joint Stock Company "CTC Network," Closed Joint Stock Company "TV DARIAL," Closed Joint Stock Company "New Channel," Limited Liability Company "Rain TV-Channel," Limited Liability Company "Global Entertainment TV" (formerly Limited Liability Company "Comedy TV"), and their counsel, Dunnington Bartholow & Miller LLP. Payment was due within 30 days of the order.