VidAngel Bankruptcy Reorganization Would Have It Pay $62.4 Million Verdict

Streaming service VidAngel filed a Chapter 11 reorganization plan with U.S. Bankruptcy Court in Salt Lake City that would see Hollywood studio plaintiffs that sued it for Copyright Act and Digital Millennium Copyright Act violations paid the full $62.4 million verdict (see 1906180003), it said Thursday. Company bankruptcy trustee George Hofmann said in a statement that the verdict "initially seemed insurmountable," but VidAngel's business growth makes paying the judgment in full feasible. "I look forward to the court confirming a plan so that VidAngel can emerge from bankruptcy, pay its debts and focus on growing," he said. In an accompanying disclosure statement (in Pacer), Hofmann said he intends to appeal the verdict to the 9th U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals after post-trial motions are fully decided. The Parents TV Council said VidAngel is "demonstrat[ing] its commitment to conducting its content filtering business honorably and within the expressed intent of Congress as documented in the Family Movie Act of 2005." PTC said Friday that Congress should, through an update to the act, "make it unmistakably clear to the courts, and to Hollywood, that consumers have free speech rights to filter out explicit streaming content that is pouring into their homes." The group criticized Disney, which was part of studios' 2019 motion (in Pacer) to convert the bankruptcy to Chapter 7 liquidation. “Disney lawyers are fighting against collecting the very financial judgment that they themselves secured, in order to drive a dagger through the heart of filtering technology once and for all. We hope the courts see through Disney’s smokescreen," PTC said. The company didn't comment now.