San Antonio Restaurant Owners Pirated July 2021 UFC PPV Broadcast, Alleges Suit

Owners of a San Antonio restaurant willfully engaged in wrongful acts when they intercepted the July 2021 pay-per-view broadcast of the Ultimate Fighting Championship bout between Dustin Poirier and Conor McGregor, a Communications Act complaint from Joe Hand Promotions alleged Monday (docket 5:24-cv-00648) in U.S. District Court for Western Texas. The owners of The Champagne Room -- Felipe Carstens, Andrew Gagne and Jennifer Rodriguez -- knew or should have known that intercepting the broadcast for free and exhibiting it at their restaurant wasn’t “properly authorized,” the complaint said. The broadcast wasn’t for private viewing, nor was it for residential, noncommercial purposes, it said. The Champagne Room sold food and drinks during the broadcast, and the program's public display was meant to entice restaurant patrons to spend money while viewing it, the complaint said. The owners intentionally pirated the program for their "economic gain,” it said. Joe Hand Promotions seeks maximum damages of $100,000 for the willful violation of Section 605 of the Communications Act, or alternatively, the maximum of $50,000 for the willful violation of Section 553.