GRAHAM ? A California sports production company wants at least $170,000 from a Burlington ?hookah lounge,? claiming its owners showed a 2014 welterweight championship fight without authorization. J&J Sports Productions Inc. claims it had the distribution rights to the fight April 2, 2014, when Manny Pacquiao battled Timothy Bradley II for the WBO Welterweight Championship. The program was broadcast on pay television. According to Law360.com, the company handles the rights to many major boxing matches and is aggressive in defending its rights in court, filing more than 2,800 lawsuits since 2005, seeking, and getting, significant amounts by alleging violations of the Federal Communications Act. The website says individuals can see J&J?s matches for as little as $60, but even a small bar could pay $2,200 for a license based on its capacity. According to the suit filed in late June against Ke Lo Ke Hookah Lounge on Plaza Drive and its owners, Marc Andrew Marino and William Hernandez, the lounge showed the fight without J&J?s authorization, for which it is seeking $170,000 for statutory violations plus legal fees. According to the lounge?s Facebook page, it may be permanently closed, and the woman answering the contact number for the business told the Times-News it was a wrong number. According to the N.C. Department of Secretary of State, Marino filed papers to dissolve the business in 2014. A call to J&J Production?s North Carolina attorney was not returned.
