Judge Recommends 'Equilibrium' for Missing Data Claims in Charter Suit

Both Charter Communications and music labels suing it for contributory copyright infringement clearly lost, deleted or otherwise didn't preserve data and documents relevant to the case, said U.S. Magistrate Judge Michael Hegarty. Citing that "practical equilibrium," Hegarty in a recommendation Monday (docket 19-cv-00874) said Charter should be precluded from disputing the "numerosity of the infringement notices" during the upcoming trial, and the plaintiffs should be allowed to put on evidence that the lost Charter Abuse Tracking System data hinders their ability to how the revenue earned from repeat copyright infringers. He said Charter should be allowed to introduce evidence of missing forensic information for purposes of contesting how much the jury should accept the labels' proof of copyright infringement by Charter customers.