E.L.V.H. Inc. v. Andrew Bennett

I. INTRODUCTION

18 Plaintiffs E.L.V.H. Inc. and Edward Van Halen (collectively “Van Halen”) move 19 for default judgment against Defendant Andrew Bennett (“Bennett”) in this copyright 20 21 infringement and breach of contract action (“Motion”). (ECF No. 34.) For the reasons discussed below, the Court GRANTS Van Halen’s Motion.1 22

II. BACKGROUND

23 Since 2006, Van Halen invited Bennett to film him and others at his recording 24 studio named 5150, located in Los Angeles, California. (Compl. ¶¶ 5–7, 9, ECF No. 25 1.) Van Halen instructed Bennett to film the rehearsals and later use the film footage 26 27

28 1 After carefully considering the papers filed in support of the Motion, the Court deemed the matter appropriate for decision without oral argument. Fed. R. Civ. P. 78; C.D. Cal. L.R. 7-15. 1 and audio files (“Subject Material”) to make a long-form DVD or video project. 2 (Compl. ¶¶ 5–7, 9.) Bennett signed a “Confidentiality Agreement” on February 20, 3 2007. (Compl. ¶10, Ex. 1 (“Confidentiality Agreement”), ECF No. 1-1.) In this 4 agreement, Bennett acknowledged that he would be exposed to personal and private 5 information of Van Halen, and agreed not…