PPV Sports Firm Sues Deli Worker for Unauthorized Showing of Soccer Match

Defendant Augusto Gutierrez “directed or permitted” employees of Arepa’s Colombian Delicatessen in Lawndale, California, to "unlawfully intercept, receive, and publish” a soccer game between Venezuela and Colombia in March, alleged pay-per-view (PPV) event company Innovative Sports Management in a Dec. 28 anti-piracy complaint in U.S. District Court for Central California in Los Angeles (docket 2:22-cv-9379). The unlawful receipt of the PPV event authorized by Gutierrez resulted in boosted food and beverage profits for the deli and direct or indirect commercial advantage, the complaint said, noting Innovative Sports had exclusive nationwide closed-circuit rights to the match. The lawsuit claims Gutierrez violated Title 47 of U.S. Code 605, and it’s seeking damages of $10,000 for each violation, and $100,000 for each willful violation, plus costs and attorneys’ fees.