A six-person jury in West Palm Beach, Florida, found that DVD distributor David DeFalco infringed producer Vlado Hreljanovic’s copyright in Just Before Dawn. The jury awarded Hreljanovic $46,000 in statutory damages, below the maximum $150,000 available, after two days of testimony and a day of deliberations.
Hreljanovic made the 1981 slasher film with his father. He said he was surprised to find it streaming on Shudder and available on DVD years after a licensing agreement with Code Red DVD expired in 2018. He sued DeFalco and several other companies and individuals; all defendants except DeFalco settled out of court.
DeFalco, who runs Dark Force Entertainment, argued that Hreljanovic could not establish a chain of title to the film. Hreljanovic’s lawyers presented documents they said showed he retained the copyright and challenged as forged a document purporting to transfer the rights from Code Red’s Bill Olsen to DeFalco. The judge did not allow the jury to hear videos in which DeFalco had taunted Hreljanovic and his lawyers.
Hreljanovic’s lead trial attorney, Eric Lee, said the legal team had proved the chain of title going back 45 years. DeFalco represented himself at trial after running up about $200,000 in defense bills and said he relied heavily on AI to prepare legal filings.
DeFalco says he does not plan to pay the award and is preparing to seek a new trial. Hreljanovic, now 79, said he plans to release a 4K restoration of Just Before Dawn next year and is relieved the litigation is over.
Sources: Variety.