Century ML-Cable v. Carrillo

Citation
Century ML-Cable Corp. v. Carrillo, 43 F. Supp. 2d 176 (D.P.R. 1998) (full-text).

Factual Background
Century commenced the action pursuant to 47 U.S.C. §§ 553 and 605 seeking, inter alia, damages and injunctive relief against the defendants for their modification, distribution and/or sales of fully descrambling cable television decoders with the intent that they be used to intercept and view Century's scrambled premium and pay-per-view cable television services.

Trial Court Proceedings
Following the district court's entry of an order temporarily restraining the defendants from destroying or removing books and records, including records stored on computer media, the plaintiff requested production of a certain computer and other business records from a defendant.

After initially asserting the defendant's right against self-incrimination, the defendant's counsel eventually agreed to produce the computer and business records, and the district court so ordered. The defendant failed to produce either the computer or the business records, and testified at his deposition "that he had given them to a relative (whom he would not identify) who had destroyed the computer and burned the records and then deposited the remains of both into a garbage can that subsequently was picked up and emptied into the municipal dump."

After citing its inherent power to enforce compliance with its orders, the district court held the defendant in contempt, granted the plaintiff's Rule 37(b)(2) motion to enter default judgment, and awarded the plaintiff reasonable attorney's fees and costs of its motion. }}