J & J Sports Productions, Inc. v. Morelia Mexican Restaurant, Inc.

126 F. Supp. 3d 809, 2015 U.S. Dist. LEXIS 114359, 2015 WL 5089588
CourtDistrict Court, N.D. Texas
DecidedAugust 28, 2015
DocketCivil Action No. 3:14-CV-3374-B
StatusPublished
Cited by119 cases

This text of 126 F. Supp. 3d 809 (J & J Sports Productions, Inc. v. Morelia Mexican Restaurant, Inc.) is published on Counsel Stack Legal Research, covering District Court, N.D. Texas primary law. Counsel Stack provides free access to over 12 million legal documents including statutes, case law, regulations, and constitutions.

Bluebook
J & J Sports Productions, Inc. v. Morelia Mexican Restaurant, Inc., 126 F. Supp. 3d 809, 2015 U.S. Dist. LEXIS 114359, 2015 WL 5089588 (N.D. Tex. 2015).

Opinion

MEMORANDUM OPINION AND ORDER

JANE J. BOYLE, District Judge.

Before the Court is a Motion for Final Default Judgment (Doc. 8), filed by Plaintiff J & J Sports Productions, Inc. on April 3, 2015. Plaintiff seeks a default judgment on its claims against Defendants Morelia Mexican Restaurant Inc., Santos Lozano, and Braulio Lozano.1 For the following reasons, the Motion is GRANTED in part and DENIED in part.

I.

BACKGROUND

This case involves claims under the Federal Communications Act of 1934, as [813]*813amended, 47 U.S.C. §§ 553 and 605 (the FCA). Plaintiff J & J Sports Productions, Inc. markets and licenses closed-circuit, pay-per-view prizefighting events to be viewed at commercial establishments. Doc. 81, Pl.’s Ex. A, Affidavit of Thomas P. Riley (Riley Aff.), App. 5-6. Plaintiff acquired the proprietary rights to exhibit and sublicense the right to exhibit the September 17, 2011, broadcast entitled “Star Power:” Floyd Mayweather, Jr. v. Victor Ortiz Championship Fight Program, including undercard or preliminary bouts (the Event). Doc. 1, Compl. ¶¶ 1, 7. Plaintiff marketed and distributed exhibition rights to the Event to commercial locations throughout Texas in exchange for a fee. Id. at ¶¶ 7, 9. To prevent unlicensed establishments from exhibiting the Event, the transmission was electronically coded or “scrambled,” and establishments that had obtained the necessary license to broadcast the Event were provided with electronic decoding equipment. Id. at ¶¶ 10-12. Plaintiff alleges that Defendants did not contract to obtain the rights to broadcast the Event. Id. at ¶¶ 13, 17. According to Plaintiff, Defendants nonetheless broadcasted the Event to patrons of their establishment, Morelia’s Mexican Restaurant, on September 17, 2011. Id. at ¶ 13.

Plaintiff filed the present case on September 17, 2014, asserting that Defendants willfully violated the FCA for commercial gain. Id. at 11, 13-17. Plaintiff thus maintains that it is entitled to an award of statutory and additional damages pursuant to the FCA, a permanent injunction enjoining Defendants from intercepting or exhibiting future programs without a license to do so, as well as court costs, attorney’s fees, and • pre- and post-judgment interest. Id. at 5-6.

Defendants were served with process on October 8, 2014, but did not answer or otherwise respond by the appropriate deadline. Doc. 5, Affidavit of Service. On March 27, 2015, the Court noted that no activity had occurred in the case since its filing, and accordingly informed Plaintiff that, unless it moved for default judgment, the case would be dismissed. Doc. 6, Order. Pursuant to the Court’s order, Plaintiff requested an entry of default as to Defendants on April 3, 2015, which the Clerk of Court entered the same day. Doc. 7, Request for Clerk to Issue Entry of Default; Doc. 9, Entry of Default. Also on April 3, 2015, Plaintiff filed the present Motion for Final Default Judgment (Doc. 8) against Defendants. To date, Defendants have not made an appearance in this case.

II.

LEGAL STANDARD

Under Rule 55 of the Federal Rules of Civil Procedure, federal courts have the authority to enter a default judgment against a defendant who has failed to plead or otherwise defend upon motion of the plaintiff. Fed.R.Civ.P. 55(a)-(b). That being said, “[d]efault judgments are a drastic remedy, not favored by the Federal Rules and resorted to by courts only in extreme situations.” Sun Bank of Ocala v. Pelican Homestead & Sav. Ass’n, 874 F.2d 274, 276 (5th Cir.1989). A party is not entitled to a default judgment merely because the defendant is technically in default. Ganther v. Ingle, 75 F.3d 207, 212 (5th Cir.1996). “Rather, a default judgment is generally committed to the discretion of the district court.” United States v. 1998 Freightliner Vin #: 1FUYC-ZYB3WP886986, 548 F.Supp.2d 381, 384 (W.D.Tex.2008) (citing Mason v. Lister, 562 F.2d 343, 345 (5th Cir.1977)).

In determining whether a default judgment should be entered against a defendant, courts have developed a three-part analysis. See, e.g., 1998 Freightliner [814]*814Vin #: 1FUYCZYB3WP886986, 548 F.Supp.2d at 384. First, courts consider whether the entry of default judgment is procedurally warranted. See Lindsey v. Prive Corp., 161 F.3d 886, 893 (5th Cir.1998). The factors relevant to this inquiry include:

[1] whether material issues of fact exist; [2] whether there has been substantial prejudice; [3] whether the grounds for default are clearly established; [4] whether the default was caused by a good faith mistake or excusable neglect; [5] the harshness of a default judgment; and [6] whether the court would think itself obliged to set aside the default on the defendant’s motion.

Id.

Second, courts assess the substantive merits of the plaintiffs claims and determine whether there is a sufficient basis in the pleadings for the judgment. See Nishimatsu Constr. Co., Ltd. v. Hous. Nat’l Bank, 515 F.2d 1200, 1206 (5th Cir.1975) (noting that “default is not treated as an absolute confession by the defendant of his liability and of the plaintiffs right to recover.”). In doing so, courts are to assume, that due to its default, defendant admits all well-pleaded facts in the plaintiffs complaint. Id. However, “defendant is not held to admit facts that are not-well pleaded or to admit conclusions of law.” Id.

Third, courts determine what form of relief, if any, the plaintiff should receive. See, e.g., 1998 Freightliner Vin #; 1FUYCZYB3WP 888986, 548 F.Supp.2d at 384. Normally, damages are not to be awarded without a hearing or a demonstration by detailed affidavits establishing the necessary facts. See United Artists Corp. v. Freeman, 605 F.2d 854, 857 (5th Cir.1979). However, if the amount of damages can be determined with mathematical calculation by reference to the pleadings and supporting documents, a hearing is unnecessary. James v. Frame, 6 F.3d 307, 310 (5th Cir.1993).

III.

ANALYSIS

A. Whether the Entry of Default Judgment Is Appropriate

After reviewing Plaintiffs Motion in light of the six Lindsey

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126 F. Supp. 3d 809, 2015 U.S. Dist. LEXIS 114359, 2015 WL 5089588, Counsel Stack Legal Research, https://law.counselstack.com/opinion/j-j-sports-productions-inc-v-morelia-mexican-restaurant-inc-txnd-2015.