Joe Hand Promotions Inc v. Zaina Resturant Inc et al

UNITED STATES DISTRICT COURT FOR THE
WESTERN DISTRICT OF OKLAHOMA
JOE HAND PROMOTIONS, INC., )
)
Plaintiff, )
)
v. ) Case No. CIV-25-183-G
)
ZAINA RESTAURANT, INC. d/b/a )
ZAMZAM MEDITERRANEAN GRILL )
et al., )
)
Defendant. )
ORDER
Plaintiff Joe Hand Promotions, Inc. initiated this action on February 11, 2025,
seeking damages from Defendants Zaina Restaurant, Inc. d/b/a ZamZam Mediterranean
Grill (“Zaina”) and Yousef H. Elyassin. See Compl. (Doc. No. 1). Now before the Court
are Defendant Elyassin’s Motion to Dismiss (Doc. No. 10) and Plaintiff’s Response in
opposition (Doc. No. 12).
I. Plaintiff’s Allegations
The Complaint alleges that Plaintiff is a corporation “that specializes in distributing
and licensing premier sporting events to commercial, non-residential establishments
including bars, restaurants, clubhouses, shops, and similar locations.” Compl. ¶ 6.
Defendant Zaina “operates, maintains and controls the establishment known as ZamZam
Mediterranean Grill” (“ZamZam”) in Warr Acres, Oklahoma. Id. ¶ 4. On the relevant
dates, Defendant Elyassin: was an owner of Zaina; operated, maintained, and controlled
ZamZam; and “had a right and ability to supervise the activities of” ZamZam. Id. ¶ 5.
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Plaintiff held the exclusive commercial license to distribute and authorize the public
display of the nationwide telecasts of Ultimate Fighting Championship® Nos. 284, 285,
287, and 288 (the “Programs”) to businesses such as ZamZam. Id. ¶¶ 3, 7. Defendants
“took affirmative steps to circumvent the commercial sublicensing requirement and
unlawfully obtained each of the Programs via a satellite signal or, in the alternative, via a
cable signal.” Id. ¶ 10. Plaintiff alleges that Defendants: willfully engaged in wrongful
acts to intercept and/or receive the Programs for free or at a nominal cost or assisted in
such actions, while Plaintiff’s legitimate customers paid substantially more for the proper
commercial sublicenses; knew, or should have known, the interception and/or receipt and
exhibition of the Programs at ZamZam was not authorized; intentionally pirated or assisted
in the intentional piracy of the Programs for the sole purpose of their own economic gain;
and exhibited the Programs for the commercial purpose of attracting paying customers,
patrons, and guests, thereby wrongfully benefiting financially by infringing upon
Plaintiff’s rights. Id. ¶¶ 12-14. “Defendants did not have license, authorization,
permission, or consent from Plaintiff to exhibit any of the Programs” at ZamZam. Id. ¶ 15.
II. Standard of Review
Defendant Elyassin seeks dismissal of Plaintiff’s claims pursuant to Federal Rule of
Civil Procedure 12(b)(6) for failure to state a claim upon which relief can be granted. See
Def.’s Mot. to Dismiss at 1-3. In analyzing a motion to dismiss under Rule 12(b)(6), the
court “accept[s] as true all well-pleaded factual allegations in the complaint and view[s]
them in the light most favorable to the plaintiff.” Burnett v. Mortg. Elec. Registration Sys.,
Inc., 706 F.3d 1231, 1235 (10th Cir. 2013). “[T]o withstand a Rule 12(b)(6) motion to
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dismiss, a complaint must contain enough allegations of fact, taken as true, ‘to state a claim
to relief that is plausible on its face.’” Khalik v. United Air Lines, 671 F.3d 1188, 1190
(10th Cir. 2012) (quoting Bell Atl. Corp. v. Twombly, 550 U.S. 544, 570 (2007)). While
the Rule 12(b)(6) standard does not require that a plaintiff establish a prima facie case in
the pleading, the court discusses the essential elements of each alleged cause of action to
better “determine whether [the plaintiff] has set forth a plausible claim.” Id. at 1192.
A complaint fails to state a claim on which relief may be granted when it lacks
factual allegations sufficient “to raise a right to relief above the speculative level on the
assumption that all the allegations in the complaint are true (even if doubtful in fact).”
Twombly, 550 U.S. at 555 (footnote and citation omitted). Bare legal conclusions in a
complaint are not entitled to the assumption of truth; “they must be supported by factual
allegations” to state a claim for relief. Ashcroft v. Iqbal, 556 U.S. 662, 679 (2009).
III. Discussion
Plaintiff alleges that, on account of their willful and unauthorized exhibitions of the
Programs, Defendants are liable for satellite piracy under 47 U.S.C. § 605 or, alternatively,
for cable piracy under 47 U.S.C. § 553. See Compl. ¶¶ 18-23.
Section 605 “prohibits the publication of any unauthorized interception or receipt
of any wire or radio communication,” as well any communication transmitted by satellite.
G&G Closed Cir. Events, LLC v. Alvarez, No. CIV-20-392-SLP, 2020 WL 12772099, at
*1 n.3 (W.D. Okla. Aug. 5, 2020) (internal quotation marks omitted). Section 553
“prohibits the unauthorized interception or receipt of any communications service offered
over a cable system.” Id. (internal quotation marks omitted). To establish liability under
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either statute, “a plaintiff must prove that a defendant unlawfully exhibited, published or
divulged a privileged communication and the signal transmitting that communication was
delivered to the intercepting party by way of a satellite or cable transmission.” J & J Sports
Prods., Inc. v. Brady, No. CIV-15-454-HE, 2016 WL 8650479, at *1 (W.D. Okla. Mar. 23,
2016) (alterations and internal quotation marks omitted).
Defendant Elyassin’s Motion does not cite or discuss §§ 605 and 533 or the
requirements to plead violation of these statutes. Instead, Defendant Elyassin argues that
Plaintiff fails to state an actionable negligence claim under Oklahoma law and that Plaintiff
may not bring suit against Defendant Elyassin under Oklahoma law based solely upon
Defendant Elyassin’s supervisory role at ZamZam. See Def.’s Mot. to Dismiss (citing
Okla. Stat. tit. 12, § 682(B)). Defendant Elyassin’s focus upon whether Plaintiff has
plausibly pleaded nonexistent state-law claims entirely ignores the federal claims expressly
identified in the Complaint as the basis for Defendants’ alleged liability. See Compl. ¶¶ 1,
20-23. Stated differently, the Motion to Dismiss fails to explain why the pleading
allegations, if true, would not show that Defendant Elyassin “unlawfully exhibited . . . a
privileged communication” delivered via satellite or cable. J & J Sports Prods., 2016 WL
8650479, at *1 (internal quotation marks omitted); see also J & J Sports Prods., Inc. v.
Brown, No. CIV-08-482-M, 2009 WL 3157369, at *3 (W.D. Okla. Sept. 29, 2009) (“[F]or
an individual defendant to be vicariously liable, the plaintiff must show that the individual
defendant had a right and ability to supervise the violations and that he had a strong
financial interest in such activities.” (internal quotation marks omitted)). Defendant
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Elyassin therefore has not shown that he is entitled to dismissal under Federal Rule of Civil
Procedure 12(b)(6).
CONCLUSION
Defendant Yousef H. Elyassin’s Motion to Dismiss (Doc. No. 10) is DENIED.
IT IS SO ORDERED this 13th day of February, 2026.
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