Barbera v. Hola TV US, LLC

CourtDistrict Court, S.D. Florida
DecidedAugust 8, 2025
Docket1:24-cv-23335
StatusUnknown

This text of Barbera v. Hola TV US, LLC (Barbera v. Hola TV US, LLC) is published on Counsel Stack Legal Research, covering District Court, S.D. Florida primary law. Counsel Stack provides free access to over 12 million legal documents including statutes, case law, regulations, and constitutions.

Bluebook
Barbera v. Hola TV US, LLC, (S.D. Fla. 2025).

Opinion

UNITED STATES DISTRICT COURT SOUTHERN DISTRICT OF FLORIDA CASE NO. 24-23335-CV-MARTINEZ/SANCHEZ ROBERT BARBERA, Plaintiff, v. HOLA TV US, LLC, Defendant. _______________________________________/ REPORT AND RECOMMENDATION ON PLAINTIFF’S MOTION FOR ENTRY OF DEFAULT JUDGMENT This matter is before the Court on Plaintiff’s Motion for Entry of Default Judgment. ECF No. 16.1 A clerk’s default was entered against Defendant. ECF No. 12. Defendant did not respond to the Complaint (ECF No. 1) or the instant motion (ECF No. 16), and it did not otherwise appear in this case. The deadlines to appear and respond have long passed. Having carefully considered Plaintiff’s motion, the record, the applicable law, and being otherwise fully advised in the premises, the undersigned RESPECTFULLY RECOMMENDS that the Plaintiff’s Motion for Entry of Default Judgment, ECF No. 16, be GRANTED. I. BACKGROUND2 Plaintiff is a professional photographer who owns a copyright registration for a photograph of Heidi Klum, a German American model and television host (“Photograph”). ECF No. 1 at ¶¶ 2, 11, 48-49. The Photograph is registered with the United States Copyright Office (“USCO”) and

1 The Honorable Jose E. Martinez, United States District Judge, referred the instant motion to the undersigned. ECF No. 18. 2 The following facts are admitted as a result of the Defendants’ default. See, e.g., Buchanan v. Bowman, 820 F.2d 359, 361 (11th Cir. 1987); Amguard Ins. Co. v. Super Winn Nail Spa, Inc., No. 23-61304, 2024 WL 996444, at *1 (S.D. Fla. Mar. 5, 2024) (citing Buchanan); Section II infra. protected from infringement under federal copyright law. See id. at ¶¶ 13, 17, 49; see also ECF No. 16-1 (Declaration of Robert Barbera); ECF No. 16-2 (Copyright Registration). Plaintiff commenced this action against Defendant on August 30, 2024, alleging copyright infringement in violation of the Copyright Act, 17 U.S.C. § 101, et seq. ECF No. 1. The Complaint alleges that Defendant copied and/or displayed the Photograph on its website and Instagram account “without permission or authorization from Plaintiff.” Id. at ¶¶ 25-29; see also

id. at ¶ 50. Defendant was served with the summons and the Complaint on September 12, 2024. ECF No. 10. Defendant did not answer or otherwise respond to the Complaint. On November 15, 2024, the clerk entered a default against Defendant. ECF No. 12. Thereafter, Plaintiff filed the instant motion, requesting that the Court (1) grant default judgment against Defendant; (2) award Plaintiff statutory damages; (3) award reasonable attorneys’ fees and costs; and (4) permanently enjoin Defendant “from continuing to store and/or display Plaintiff’s Photograph.” ECF No. 16 at 4. II. LEGAL STANDARD Federal Rule of Civil Procedure 55 contains a two-step process by which a party may obtain a default final judgment. Fed. R. Civ. P. 55. First, “[w]hen a party against whom a judgment for affirmative relief is sought has failed to plead or otherwise defend, and that failure is shown by affidavit or otherwise, the clerk must enter the party’s default.” Fed. R. Civ. P. 55(a); see Mitchell v. Brown & Williamson Tobacco Corp., 294 F.3d 1309, 1316 (11th Cir. 2002). Second, “[p]ursuant

to Federal Rule of Civil Procedure 55(b)(2), the Court is authorized to enter a final judgment of default against a party who has failed to plead in response to a complaint.” Chanel, Inc. v. Sea Hero, 234 F. Supp. 3d 1255, 1258 (S.D. Fla. 2016). When a clerk enters default, Plaintiff’s well-pleaded allegations are deemed admitted. See, e.g., Giovanno v. Fabec, 804 F.3d 1361, 1366 (11th Cir. 2015). Only the well-pleaded allegations are admitted because “entry of default judgment is only warranted when there is ‘a sufficient basis in the pleadings for the judgment entered’” and the Eleventh Circuit has “interpreted [that] standard as being akin to that necessary to survive a motion to dismiss for failure to state a claim.” Surtain v. Hamlin Terrace Found., 789 F.3d 1239, 1244-45 (11th Cir. 2015) (quoting Nishimatsu Constr. Co. v. Houston Nat’l Bank, 515 F.2d 1200, 1206 (5th Cir. 1975), and applying the pleading standard set forth in Ashcroft v. Iqbal, 556 U.S. 662 (2009)). Therefore, before entering default judgment,

a court must ensure that the well-pleaded allegations in the complaint “state a substantive cause of action” and provide a “sufficient basis . . . for the particular relief sought.” Tyco Fire & Sec., LLC v. Alcocer, 218 F. App’x 860, 863 (11th Cir. 2007). If the admitted facts are sufficient to establish liability, then the Court must ascertain the appropriate form of relief. See Am. Airlines, Inc. v. Individuals & Entities Associated with Domains & Email Addresses Identified in Exhibit A, No. 22-22080-CIV, 2024 WL 945262, at *3 (S.D. Fla. Feb. 16, 2024), report and recommendation adopted, 2024 WL 941683 (S.D. Fla. Mar. 5, 2024). Remedies for copyright infringement include injunctive relief and monetary damages. See, e.g., Clever Covers, Inc. v. Sw. Fla. Storm Def., LLC, 554 F. Supp. 2d 1303, 1309 (M.D. Fla. 2008). Where all the essential evidence needed to determine damages is found in the record, an evidentiary hearing on damages is not required. See, e.g., SEC v. Smyth, 420 F.3d 1225, 1232 n.13 (11th Cir. 2005); Amguard Ins. Co., 2024 WL 996444, at *1. III. LIABILITY

The Copyright Act provides that “[a]nyone who violates any of the exclusive rights of the copyright owner as provided by sections 106 through 122 or of the author as provided in section 106A(a) . . . is an infringer of the copyright or right of the author.” 17 U.S.C. § 501(a). A copyright infringement action requires a plaintiff to prove “(1) ownership of a valid copyright, and (2) copying of constituent elements of the work that are original.” Feist Publ’n, Inc. v. Rural Tel. Serv. Co., 499 U.S. 340, 361 (1991). For the first prong, “a plaintiff must prove that the work . . . is original and that the plaintiff complied with applicable statutory formalities.” Latimer v. Roaring Toyz, Inc., 601 F.3d 1224, 1233 (11th Cir. 2010) (quoting Bateman v. Mnemonics, Inc., 79 F.3d 1532, 1541 (11th Cir. 1996)). A “certificate of registration ‘constitute[s] prima facie evidence of the validity of the copyright

and of the facts stated in the certificate,’” and providing the certificate “‘shifts the burden of proving the invalidity of the copyright’ to the defendant.” Aug. Image, LLC v. Auge Internacional Media, LLC, No.

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Latimer v. Roaring Toyz, Inc.
601 F.3d 1224 (Eleventh Circuit, 2010)
Tyco Fire & Security LLC v.Jesus Hernandez Alcocer
218 F. App'x 860 (Eleventh Circuit, 2007)
Gray v. Lockheed Aeronautical Systems Co.
125 F.3d 1387 (Eleventh Circuit, 1997)
William Mitchell v. Phillip Morris Incorporated
294 F.3d 1309 (Eleventh Circuit, 2002)
Securities & Exchange Commission v. Smyth
420 F.3d 1225 (Eleventh Circuit, 2005)
Thomas v. Arn
474 U.S. 140 (Supreme Court, 1986)
Ashcroft v. Iqbal
556 U.S. 662 (Supreme Court, 2009)
George B. Buchanan, Jr. v. Hugh E. Bowman, II
820 F.2d 359 (Eleventh Circuit, 1987)
Kenneth Henley v. Willie E. Johnson, Warden
885 F.2d 790 (Eleventh Circuit, 1989)
Campbell v. Green
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Major Bob Music v. Stubbs
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Clever Covers, Inc. v. Southwest Florida Storm Defense, LLC
554 F. Supp. 2d 1303 (M.D. Florida, 2008)
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Portia Surtain v. Hamlin Terrace Foundation
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Bluebook (online)
Barbera v. Hola TV US, LLC, Counsel Stack Legal Research, https://law.counselstack.com/opinion/barbera-v-hola-tv-us-llc-flsd-2025.