Rubin v. Trendland LLC
- Paul Engelmayer
- 1:22-cv-09452
- U.S. District Court · Southern District of New York
- 2
In Rubin v. Trendland LLC, Judge Engelmayer awarded Laurie Rubin $20,301.08 after Trendland’s copyright infringement liability was established by default.
Laurie Rubin received statutory damages, attorneys’ fees, and costs; Trendland LLC was subject to the judgment entered after its liability was established by default.
What happened
In Rubin v. Trendland LLC, Laurie Rubin sued Trendland LLC under the Copyright Act, alleging that Trendland displayed one of her copyrighted photographs on its website without authorization. The Court had already entered a default judgment against Trendland on liability.
The Court reviewed a magistrate judge’s recommendation on damages because no party objected to it. The recommendation called for $17,500 in statutory damages, $1,942.50 in attorneys’ fees, and $858.58 in costs.
Judge Paul A. Engelmayer adopted the recommendation in its entirety, awarded those amounts, directed the Clerk to enter judgment for $20,301.08, and terminated the case. The Court also stated that the parties’ failure to object waived appellate review.
The detailed version
- Rubin v. Trendland LLC · No. 1:22-cv-09452
- Paul Engelmayer
- July 21, 2023
Background
Laurie Rubin filed a copyright action against Trendland LLC, alleging that Trendland displayed one of Rubin’s copyrighted photographs on its website without authorization. The Court had entered a default judgment against Trendland on liability. This opinion addressed the resulting damages inquest—the process of determining the amount to award after liability was established by default.
Recommendation and Review
United States Magistrate Judge Stewart D. Aaron recommended awarding Rubin $17,500 in statutory damages under the Copyright Act, $1,942.50 in attorneys’ fees, and $858.58 in costs. No party submitted objections. The Court therefore reviewed the recommendation for clear error, meaning an obvious error on the face of the record. The Court found no such error and adopted the Report and Recommendation in its entirety.
Ruling
Judge Paul A. Engelmayer awarded Rubin $17,500 in statutory damages, $1,942.50 in attorneys’ fees, and $858.58 in costs. The total was $20,301.08. The Court directed the Clerk of Court to enter judgment in Rubin’s favor and terminated the case. The Court also stated that the parties’ failure to object waived appellate review.
Read the full 2-page opinion on CourtListener, the free public archive maintained by the Free Law Project.