Wozniak v. Warner Brothers Entertainment, Inc.
- Paul Engelmayer
- 1:22-cv-08969
- U.S. District Court · Southern District of New York
- 4
In Wozniak v. Warner Bros., Judge Engelmayer denied Wozniak’s discovery motion without prejudice because the requests were overbroad, while allowing a narrower request.
Christopher Wozniak’s request for additional documents from Warner Bros. was denied in its current form, but he may make a significantly narrower request.
What happened
In Wozniak v. Warner Brothers Entertainment, Inc., Christopher Wozniak asked Warner Bros. to produce additional documents about the development of the film The Batman. His requests covered broad subjects and story elements, including Batman, police, identity, looting, and other concepts.
Warner Bros. argued that it had already produced or agreed to produce key materials, including the film, screenplays, and nonprivileged documents concerning Wozniak and his story. It also said that its search found no relevant communications from the period when the film was created and that an earlier Batman project associated with Ben Affleck was unrelated to the film at issue.
Judge Paul A. Engelmayer denied the discovery requests in their current form without prejudice. He found them overbroad and said Wozniak could propose a significantly narrower request focused on a brief period and a limited number of search terms. The court directed the Clerk to terminate the motion.
The detailed version
- Wozniak v. Warner Brothers Entertainment, Inc. · No. 1:22-cv-08969
- Paul Engelmayer
- June 21, 2023
Background
Christopher Wozniak alleged that Warner Bros. infringed his copyright in a Batman story titled The Blind Man’s Hat, also called The Ultimate Riddle, by using it in the 2022 film The Batman. Warner Bros. denied that the works shared protectable expression. DC Comics, identified in the opinion as a third-party plaintiff, asserted its own copyright claim against Wozniak and argued that he was not authorized to create the story.
Wozniak served document requests on Warner Bros. The requests sought materials concerning his name and story, as well as broad concepts and elements associated with The Batman, including Batman, Bruce Wayne, Gotham, police, corruption, Alfred, serial killers, the Riddler, the Joker, civil unrest, riots, protests, and Commissioner Gordon. Warner Bros. objected that the requests were overbroad and burdensome. It represented that it had produced or would produce the film, screenplays, and nonprivileged documents referring to Wozniak or his story. It also represented that its search of relevant custodians found only a few communications mentioning Wozniak, none from the period when The Batman was conceived or created.
Ruling
Under Federal Rule of Civil Procedure 26, the court said it had broad discretion to weigh whether discovery was proportional to the needs of the case. The court agreed that the requests, including requests for all documents concerning broad concepts such as looting, Batman, identity, police, and the “big reveal,” were overbroad. It also noted Warner Bros.’ representations about its records search and about the lack of a connection between the Ben Affleck project and the film at issue.
Judge Paul A. Engelmayer denied the discovery requests in their current form without prejudice to Wozniak’s right to make a significantly narrower request. The court suggested that a request focused on a brief period around the alleged infringement and a very limited number of key search terms might be proportional and productive. The Clerk was directed to terminate the motion pending at docket 34.
Read the full 4-page opinion on CourtListener, the free public archive maintained by the Free Law Project.