AF Holdings LLC v. Bossard, 2013 U.S. Dist. LEXIS 143055

AF Holdings LLC sued Nicholas Bossard on Oct. 8, 2012 for infringing the film Sexual Obsession via BitTorrent.
AF served process on Bossard on Nov. 2, 2012; default was entered on Jan. 2, 2013 after no appearance.
AF sought $150,000 in statutory damages, plus $525 in fees and $391.75 in costs; Bossard did not respond.
Court treats all well-pled facts in the Complaint as true and finds liability on all four counts by default.
Court exercises discretion on damages; declines to award the maximum and awards $6,000 in statutory damages.
AF is awarded $6,000 statutory damages plus $916.75 in costs and attorney’s fees, for a total of $9, - wait, format properly: total $6,916.75.

Issue	Plaintiff's Argument	Defendant's Argument	Held
Whether default judgment should be entered against Bossard	AF seeks default judgment; liability on all four counts established	Not stated; Bossard did not appear	Default judgment granted with liability established
What damages are appropriate for statutory damages	Seeks the statutory maximum of $150,000 for wilful infringement	Not stated	Statutory damages awarded: $6,000 (not the maximum)
Whether costs and attorney’s fees should be awarded	Requests $391.75 costs and $525 in attorney’s fees	Not stated	Costs and fees awarded: $916.75 in addition to $6,000

Thomas v. Miller, 489 F.3d 293 (6th Cir. 2007) (default judgment establishes factual predicates; mandatory truth of allegations)
Brockton Savings Bank v. Peat, Marwick, Mitchell & Co., 771 F.2d 5 (1st Cir. 1985) (default, allegations deemed established as a matter of law)
Zomba Enterprises, Inc. v. Panorama Records, Inc., 491 F.3d 574 (6th Cir. 2007) (discretion in determining statutory damages; Wilful infringement considerations)
Disney Enterprises, Inc. v. Delane, 446 F.Supp.2d 402 (D. Md. 2006) (considerations for damages in BitTorrent/file-sharing cases)
Capitol Records, Inc. v. Mattingley, 461 F.Supp.2d 846 (S.D. Ill. 2006) (damages awards in BitTorrent/file-sharing cases)