Court keeps fee awards for HBO, Warner Bros. Discovery, and Grand Street Media, fixing only arithmetic

The decision

The decision and order is Document 130 in Piuggi v. Good For You Productions LLC, No. 1:23-cv-03665 (VM) (S.D.N.Y.), dated October 13, 2026. The defendants are Good For You Productions LLC, Grand Street Media Holdings Inc., Home Box Office Inc., and Warner Bros. Discovery, Inc. The plaintiff, Jack Piuggi, now proceeding pro se, moved under Rules 59(e) and 60(a) and Local Civil Rule 6.3 for reconsideration of the July 20, 2026 fee decision.

Background

The first amended complaint alleged copyright infringement against all defendants and breach of contract against Grand Street and Good For You Productions. The court dismissed it in full on February 23, 2025, and denied a Rule 60(b) motion on August 10, 2026. On July 20, 2026 it awarded fees under 17 U.S.C. 505, finding the copyright claim objectively unreasonable and at least partially motivated by a desire to garner publicity and profit from it, and finding that compensation and deterrence supported an award; it denied Grand Street's Rule 11 motion as procedurally improper. It awarded WBD $75,069.10 in fees and $505.10 in costs and Grand Street $30,641.16 in fees.

What the court decided

The court found no intervening change in law, no newly available evidence, and no clear error. It held that discounting a fee award is discretionary and based on relative financial positions, so it was not error to discount only WBD's award, given Grand Street's submissions describing it as a small, independent video production company with three full-time employees. It declined to consider two 2023 emails from former counsel as an argument available earlier, and held they would not change the result. Reading the motion as also asking that former counsel be held jointly and severally liable for the award, it found insufficient evidence to justify that, noting the plaintiff conceded that counsel's actions do not establish bad faith.

Under Rule 60(a), the court agreed with the plaintiff's arithmetic: WBD's costs are $505.01, not $505.10, and Grand Street's fee award is $30,640.87, not $30,641.16. The motion was otherwise denied.