Brooklyn Restaurateur Pirated May 2022 PPV Boxing Telecast, Alleges Suit

A Brooklyn, N.Y., restaurant owner willfully engaged in wrongful acts by intercepting the May 2022 pay-per-view broadcast of the Gervonta Davis vs. Rolando Romero lightweight boxing match, a Communications Act complaint from G & G Closed Circuit Events alleged Wednesday (docket 1:24-cv-04191) in U.S. District Court for Eastern New York in Brooklyn. Torri Clayton, owner of Cheri’s Bedstuy, knew or should have known that intercepting the broadcast for free and exhibiting it at the restaurant wasn’t properly authorized, the complaint said. The broadcast wasn’t for private viewing, nor was it for residential, noncommercial purposes, it said. Cheri’s Bedstuy 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. Clayton intentionally pirated the program for personal economic gain, it said. The commercial fee for an establishment the size of Cheri’s Bedtuy to receive the broadcast legally was $600, but neither Clayton nor the establishment paid such a fee, said the complaint. G & G seeks maximum damages of $170,000 for the willful violation of sections 605 and 553 of the Communications Act.