| Photog Sued
AfroPunk Fest But Had Experts Disallowed
Now Bifurcated SDNY Trial Dec 17
By Matthew
Russell Lee, Patreon
BBC
- Guardian
UK - Honduras
- ESPN
SDNY COURTHOUSE,
Nov 11 – Photographer
Mambu Boyoh sued Afropunk Fest
2015 for allegedly violating
his copyright. Now the case is
nearing trial, but might be
derailed if his experts are
disallowed.
On October
22 U.S. District Court for the
Southern District of New York
Judge Denise L. Cote held a
final pre-trial conference.
Inner City Press covered it.
Judge Cote
asked about prospective
witnesses, disallowing some as
being put forward too late.
She reserved judgment on the
plaintiff's experts, while
noting that without them, it
would be hard for a jury to
impose damages.
Then on
October 26 Judge Cote ruled
that the two experts are
excluded. The survey evidence
is irrelevant; the other
expert invites speculation,
Judge Cote ruled. She asked
why she should not now dismiss
the case.
Bayoh on
October 27 responded that he
can still seek a permanent
injunction against the use of
his photographs.
Now on
November 11, Judge Cote has
provided for a limited or
bifurcated trial on December
17, "solely on the existence
of irreparable harm" - "ORDER
The plaintiff having indicated
in the November 10, 2020
submission that it seeks a
permanent injunction and the
defendants having indicated in
that same submission that they
wish to move to vacate the
preliminary injunction issued
on July 11, 2018, it is hereby
ORDERED that a bifurcated
trial will be held on the
plaintiffs request for a
permanent injunction. If the
plaintiff is able during the
first phase of the trial to
show irreparable harm, a trial
will be held on the remaining
elements of its request for an
injunction. The following
schedule shall govern the
further conduct of pretrial
proceedings in this case: 1.
On November 20, 2020 by noon,
the plaintiff shall serve, and
by December 2 by noon, the
defendants shall serve: (a)
Proposed Findings of Fact and
Conclusions of Law; (b) those
portions of depositions that
are being offered as
substantive evidence, along
with a one-page synopsis (with
transcript citations) of such
testimony for each deposition;
and (c) affidavits
constituting the direct
testimony of its witnesses,
except for testimony of an
adverse party, a person whose
attendance must be compelled
by subpoena, or a witness for
whom a party has requested and
the Court has agreed to hear
the direct testimony at
hearing. Each filing shall
relate to the existence of
irreparable harm only. 2. At
the same time (by November 20
for plaintiff; by December 2
for defendants), the parties
shall file their Proposed
Findings of Fact and
Conclusions of Law and any
Memorandum of Law. Each filing
shall relate to the existence
of irreparable harm only. 3.
Three days after submission of
the witness affidavits,
counsel for each party shall
submit a list of all affiants
that he or she intends to
cross-examine at the hearing.
Affiants for whom such notice
is not given are not required
to be present at the hearing.
4. By December 8, the
plaintiff shall file any Reply
Memorandum of Law. The
plaintiff may not file a Reply
Memorandum of Law unless it
filed an initial Memorandum of
Law on November 20. Any reply
may only address issues it was
unable to anticipate as of
November 20. 5. At the time
the above-described documents
are filed or served, counsel
shall also send a complete set
of the documents to the Courts
Chambers email:
Cotenysdchambers@nysd.uscourts.gov.
The case name, case number,
and email contents should be
clearly set forth in the
emails subject line. IT IS
FURTHER ORDERED that on
December 2, the defendants
shall file any motion to
vacate the preliminary
injunction. The plaintiff
shall file any opposition to
the motion to vacate on
December 8; any reply shall be
served by December 11 at noon.
IT IS FURTHER ORDERED that a
trial on the plaintiffs
request for a permanent
injunction, confined solely to
the existence of irreparable
harm, will be held on
Thursday, December 17 at 9:30
a.m. IT IS FURTHER ORDERED
that the parties shall confer
regarding whether that trial
may be conducted solely
through the Courts
consideration of the trial
evidence submitted on November
20 and December 2, or whether
either party requests an
opportunity to cross-examine
witnesses. In the event a
party seeks to cross-examine
witnesses, the parties shall
confer regarding whether the
trial may be conducted
remotely and the witnesses
appear for cross-examination
via video. The parties shall
notify the Court by December 4
of their positions on these
issues. (Signed by Judge
Denise L. Cote on 11/11/20)
(lc) (Entered: 11/11/2020)."
The case is KNF
Bayoh v. Afropunk Fest 2015
LLC et al., 18-cv-5820 (Cote)
***
Your
support means a lot. As little as $5 a month
helps keep us going and grants you access to
exclusive bonus material on our Patreon
page. Click
here to become a patron.
Feedback:
Editorial [at] innercitypress.com
SDNY Press Room 480, front cubicle
500 Pearl Street, NY NY 10007 USA
Mail: Box 20047, Dag
Hammarskjold Station NY NY 10017
Reporter's mobile (and weekends):
718-716-3540
Other, earlier Inner City Press are
listed here,
and some are available in the ProQuest
service, and now on Lexis-Nexis.
Copyright 2006-2020 Inner City
Press, Inc. To request reprint or other
permission, e-contact Editorial [at]
innercitypress.com
|
,
