If you were wondering if the UFC was still going after bars and restaurants that illegally pirate the promotion’s PPVs. In a recent post, a federal court granted Zuffa’s default judgment against a bar. However, it was denied the amount it requested, due in part to the coronavirus pandemic.
The Miss Saigon Restaurant in Vero Beach, Florida was sued by the UFC for not paying the appropriate licensing fee for the UFC 239 broadcast in July 2019. The UFC sought damages in the amount of $40,000 in damages for the unauthorized use of the broadcast, $40,000 for copyright infringement damages, $612 in attorney’s fees and $800 in costs.
The restaurant did not respond to the lawsuit as is required by law which caused the default and default judgment. According to the default judgment, there was a live recording at the restaurant advertising the PPV. But, since the restaurant did not respond to the lawsuit, it could not dispute the allegation. Per the rules of the court regarding a default, the lawsuit allegations were admitted as true.
The UFC attempted to request enhanced damages of $10,000 based on a “methodology that involves assessing $50 in statutory damages per patron” with the contention that 200 patrons were in the restaurant to watch the PPV. However, in a footnote, the court doubts that there were 200 people at the restaurant. The court, in assessing damages, noted the impact that Covid-19 has had on the restaurant industry and thus awarded just $1,000 in enhanced damages. The court noted that “[r]estaruants remain in significant economic distress, with restrictions on indoor dining capacity still in effect. An award that might otherwise amount to a strong deterrent could be catastrophic.” This shows the awareness of the court that a small business may be thrown into bankruptcy if the court granted a $10,000 damage award in addition to the other requested claims.
h/t Darren Heitner
Payout Perspective:
At a time when small businesses are floundering, the court did its best in ensuring that it did not bankrupt this restaurant. The fact that the PPV was shown last summer reflects the length of time it takes to process these lawsuits. Still, the UFC is policing its content. The evidence reflects that the restaurant was showing the PPV without a commercial license. The investigator discovered the unauthorized use of the PPV content and Zuffa attempted to utilize a punitive methodology $50 per patron with the alleged 200 patrons in attendance to solely watch the PPV to come up with enhanced damages. Fortunately for the business, the court stepped in to reduce the damages. The fact that the restaurant did not file a response might be seen as the inability to pay a lawyer to address the complaint.
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