Neal Deschain v. Partnerships and Unincorporated Associations Identified on Schedule A

MINUTE entry before the Honorable Manish S. Shah: Motion hearing on 9/11/25 shall proceed via telephone. Parties to the case, members of the public, and the media, may participate in/listen to these proceedings by dialing 1-650-479-3207 and using access code 2302 545 7949. Persons granted remote access to proceedings are reminded of the general prohibition against photographing, recording, and rebroadcasting of court proceedings. Violation of these prohibitions may result in sanctions, including removal of court issued media credentials, restricted entry to future hearings, denial of entry to future hearings, or any other sanctions deemed necessary by the Court.Notices Mailed. notice

NOTICE of Voluntary Dismissal by All Plaintiffs of Certain Doe Defendants

NOTICE of Voluntary Dismissal by All Plaintiffs of Certain Doe Defendants

NOTICE of Voluntary Dismissal by All Plaintiffs of Certain Doe Defendants

NOTICE of Voluntary Dismissal by All Plaintiffs of Certain Doe Defendants

NOTICE of Voluntary Dismissal by Neal Deschain of Certain Doe Defendants

NOTICE of Voluntary Dismissal by Neal Deschain of Certain Doe Defendants

NOTICE of Voluntary Dismissal by Neal Deschain of Certain Doe Defendants

NOTICE of Voluntary Dismissal by Neal Deschain of Certain Doe Defendants

MINUTE entry before the Honorable Manish S. Shah: Plaintiff's motion to reconsider [20] is denied, and no appearance on 5/27/25 is necessary. The court understands (and understood) that three copyrights are at issue and that Deschain may be entitled to damages for infringement of all three copyrights for a period of time longer than it may seem from the date of assignment of the third copyright. But prejudgment asset restraints are not to be used to secure assets for collection. The court is not convinced that moving money out of accounts is necessarily fraudulent and must be stopped before defendants can be heard. The court is also not persuaded that an asset restraint is necessary to conduct an accounting; discovery and records of sales can provide any accounting plaintiff may be entitled to. The court further notes that plaintiffs in these "Schedule A" cases rarely pursue an actual accounting as a remedy and rarely justify requests for statutory damages by reference to actual sales figures, lost profits, or the like. Instead, plaintiff's counsel typically asks for an amount of statutory damages based on notions of deterrence without case-specific factual support justifying the number. Preliminary injunctive relief is extraordinary, and ex parte relief even more so. The court remains convinced that an asset restraint is not necessary here. The court granted a TRO that shuts down sales of allegedly infringing works on an ex parte basis. That alone is extraordinary and substantial relief to plaintiff.

MINUTE entry before the Honorable Manish S. Shah: Plaintiff's ex parte motions [5][7][10][11] are granted in part, and the motion to seal [16] is denied. The assignment of a copyright is not sensitive business information that outweighs the public right to access court records. It appears that Deschain received the assignment for the third copyright in mid-March and from the screenshots, is claiming infringement from acts in March. The court wonders if some of the alleged acts predate Deschain's rights to the copyright, and is dubious that the claim has much value in retrospective relief (damages) if infringement occurred shortly after the assignment. The court declines to restrain any assets and security is set at $50,000. The security must be posted within one week. Enter Sealed TRO. Notices Mailed.

MINUTE entry before the Honorable Manish S. Shah: Plaintiff's ex parte motions are taken under advisement and no appearance on 5/14/25 is necessary. Plaintiff must file a supplement explaining why Neal Deschain asserts ownership over VA 2-104-073 when the submitted exhibit identifies the owner and copyright claimant as Emily Coleman. Plaintiff's supplement is due 5/14/25. Notices Mailed.