Lost Screenplay Files Worth $27K, Not Millions, Calif. Court Says

An Internet provider whose technician erased three screenplays from a computer while attempting to install DSL service will have to pay the writer only $27,000 and not the millions the writer was seeking, a California appellate court has ruled.

The 2d District Court of Appeal affirmed a jury's verdict that plaintiff Nicholas Boyd was partially responsible for the loss because he failed to back up his data and because he installed a large number of new files onto his computer after the screenplays were lost, which likely prevented the deleted data from being recovered.

The appeals court reversed the jury's award of $33,000 in punitive damages against SBC Advanced Solutions Inc.

Boyd sued SBC, alleging that a technician from the company deleted three screenplays from Boyd's computer Dec. 14, 2000, while trying to install a "digital subscriber line," a form of high-speed Internet access.

A computer expert was unable to recover the screenplays.

Boyd claimed he had a multimillion-dollar contract for the screenplays to be produced and that he should be compensated for the lost deal.

A Los Angeles County Superior Court jury found SBC was negligent and awarded Boyd $60,000 in compensatory damages and $33,000 in punitives.

The jury found Boyd 55 percent responsible for the lost screenplays, so SBC would have to pay only $27,000 of the compensatory award.

Both sides appealed to the Court of Appeal. Boyd argued that the jury's damage award was too low, while SBC argued that no punitive damages should have been awarded.

The appellate panel agreed with SBC that Boyd is not entitled to punitive damages because the jury found SBC was negligent, but that it did not commit an intentional tort.

The verdict form allowed the imposition of punitive damages only if SBC were found to have acted intentionally, the panel pointed out.

The panel found no merit in Boyd's appeal. Based on the evidence presented by both sides, the jury could have reasonably concluded that Boyd did not have a contract for the sale of the screenplays, but that he should be compensated for expenses incurred in researching and writing them, the panel said.

Boyd also argued that he should receive all of the $60,000 compensatory damages award, but the panel disagreed. The evidence showed Boyd backed up one of his screenplays onto a floppy disk, so he could have done the same with the other two, but did not.

The evidence also showed Boyd or someone authorized by him installed more than 4,000 new files onto his computer immediately after the screenplays were lost.

Deleted data remains on a computer disk and can often be recovered if no new data has overwritten it. The thousands of new files likely overwrote the deleted screenplays and made it impossible for the lost data to be recovered, the panel said.