Totin v. We Find Properties Inc.

Background

Brian Totin, a photojournalist proceeding without a lawyer, brought a copyright-infringement action against We Find Properties Inc. Totin alleged that he owned registered copyrights in several images and that We Find used eight of those images on its website after removing the watermarks. He sought a declaration of infringement, damages, fees and costs, and an injunction against continued infringement.

Totin filed the case on December 3, 2020. We Find was served through the New York Secretary of State on December 21, 2020, but did not answer or otherwise respond. The Clerk issued a certificate of default on January 13, 2021. Totin then moved for default judgment.

Legal standard

Under Federal Rule of Civil Procedure 55, a party is in default when it fails to plead or otherwise defend after a claim for relief is made against it. A default admits the well-pleaded factual allegations, so the court accepts those allegations as true and draws reasonable inferences in favor of the non-defaulting party.

Ruling

The court stated that Totin’s case was clear: he owned the copyrights to certain images, and We Find infringed them. Judge J. Paul Oetken granted Totin’s motion for default judgment. The Clerk was directed to enter judgment for Totin against We Find, including $7,050 in statutory damages and $519.57 in costs. The court also directed the Clerk to close the motion and the case.

Classification

This is a procedural order under the stated classification rules because the judgment resulted from We Find’s failure to appear and defend, rather than from an adversarial testing of the copyright claim.