Full opinion text
DECISION AND ORDER MARRERO, District Judge. I. BACKGROUND On August 20, 2002, plaintiffs TVT Records and TVT Music, Inc. (collectively “TVT”) commenced this action against defendants The Island Def Jam Music Group (“IDJ”) and its chairman Lyor Cohen (“Cohen,” and collectively with IDJ, the “Defendants”), alleging copyright infringement and related state law claims arising out of the production of a certain music album. The Court held an evidentiary hearing on September 23, 24, and 30, 2002, after which it granted in part and denied in part TVT’s motion for a preliminary injunction essentially prohibiting any use of disputed album materials pending final resolution of the surrounding issues, including ownership, at trial. Trial of the parties’ dispute commenced on March 10, 2003 in bifurcated liability and damages phases before the same jury. On March 21, 2003, the jury returned a verdict of liability against IDJ for breach of contract and against both Defendants for tortious interference with contractual relations, fraud by fraudulent concealment, and willful copyright infringement. The jury assessed compensatory and punitive damages on May 6, 2003 at the damages phase in the aggregate amount of approximately $132 million. Now before the Court are the Defendants’ post-trial motions for judgment as a matter of law pursuant to Fed.R.Civ.P. 50(b) and for a new trial and/or remittitur pursuant to Fed.R.Civ.P. 59. Also before the Court are TVT’s motions for return, recall, and destruction of master recordings and infringing materials pursuant to § 503(b) of the Copyright Act of 1976 (the “Copyright Act”), 17 U.S.C. § 101 et seq., and for the setting of the date for accrual of prejudgment interest. For the reasons discussed below, Defendants’ motions for judgment as a matter of law are DENIED, Defendants’ motions for a new trial are DENIED, TVT’s motion for the return, recall, and destruction of infringing materials is GRANTED IN PART and DENIED IN PART, and TVT’s motion for the setting of the date for accrual of interest is GRANTED. Defendants’ motions for remittitur are addressed in a separate Decision and Order, issued as TVT Records v. The Island Def Jam Music Group, 279 F.Supp.2d 413, 2003 WL 22056308, No. 02 Civ 6644, slip op. (S.D.N.Y.2003), and accompanying this ruling. II. FACTS This case arises from a licensing dispute between TVT and its principal Steve Gott-lieb (“Gottlieb”) and IDJ concerning the distribution and exploitation of musical works created in significant part by Jeffrey Atkins, who is professionally known as Ja Rule (“Ja Rule”), and produced by Irving Lorenzo, who is professionally known as Irv Gotti (“Gotti,” and together with Ja Rule, the “Artists”). Under an agreement dated March 2, 1998 between IDJ’s predecessor-in-interest, Rush Associated Recordings, and Ja Rule, which was extended by an agreement dated August 16, 2003 between IDJ and Ja Rule, IDJ is entitled to Ja Rule’s exclusive services as a recording artist. Pursuant to an agreement dated February 11, 1999 between IDJ’s predecessor-in-interest, Island/Mercury Records, and Gotti, which was extended by an agreement dated December 17, 2001 between IDJ and Gotti, IDJ is entitled to Gotti’s exclusive services as a record producer and talent-finder. In an agreement entitled “Heads of Agreement Between Murderers Inc./Irv Gotti And Jeffrey Atkins (p/k/a ‘Ja Rule’) And Tee Vee Toons, Inc. (‘TVT’)” dated July 2, 2001 (the “Heads of Agreement”), TVT contracted with Ja Rule and Gotti—and Gotti’s company, Murder Inc. (“Murder Inc.”)—to record, produce, and exploit an album (the “CMC Album”) featuring the performances of Ja Rule, Christopher Bristole, and Otha Miller (collectively the “CMC Artists”). Under the Heads of Agreement, four previously recorded CMC tracks would be reworked and supplemented with at least eight newly recorded tracks featuring the CMC Artists, including Ja Rule, to comprise the CMC Album. The Heads of Agreement, through various guarantees and indemnities, charges the Artists with securing any approvals, consents, and permissions necessary for them to satisfy their obligations under this contract. The delivery date for the new recordings as contemplated by the written Heads of Agreement was November 1, 2001. This delivery date was later changed to reflect the schedules of the Artists and the timing of other contemplated album releases. TVT and the Artists ultimately agreed that the new tracks would be supplied to TVT in time for release in November 2002. In the interim, the Artists continued to work on the new recordings for the CMC Album, and by May 2002, approximately eleven new tracks had been recorded. During this time, TVT continued to pay the Artists’ recording costs, the CMC Album and its fall 2002 release were publicized by both TVT and Gotti, as well as by IDJ’s publishing affiliate, and TVT arranged and paid for a photo shoot for the Artists to further promote the CMC Album. Also during this interim time, Got-ti’s contract with IDJ was renegotiated in late 2001, and Ja Rule’s contract with IDJ was renegotiated in early to mid-August of 2002. TVT recognized that IDJ’s assent to the project envisioned by the Heads of Agreement was necessary, and it accordingly endeavored to negotiate for IDJ’s consent in mid-to-late 2001. In the process, Cohen and Gottlieb outlined a profit sharing arrangement. Gottlieb testified that in personal negotiations between them, Cohen gave his verbal approval to the terms and that Gottlieb understood that the parties had then concluded a binding agreement. In a letter dated October 22, 2001, William Leibowitz (“Leibowitz”), outside counsel for TVT, sent to IDJ, asking that they be signed and returned, execution copies of what TVT understood to be the written embodiment of an agreement, termed the Side Letter Agreement (the “Side Letter Agreement”), in which IDJ consented to permit its exclusive Artists to contribute to the CMC Album project. TVT’s evidence indicates that IDJ representatives repeatedly assured Leibowitz that IDJ had consented to the CMC Album project and that executed copies of the Side Letter Agreement would be supplied. In a letter dated November 15, 2001, Leibowitz again asked IDJ to return executed copies of the Side Letter Agreement, indicating that TVT had relied on representations of consent and assurances that executed copies would be forthcoming. In the spring of 2002, Leibowitz spoke with Brian Robinson of IDJ’s legal department about the Side Letter Agreement and IDJ’s prior assurances, and Robinson indicated that he would inquire into the matter and then contact Leibowitz with an update. Executed copies of the Side Letter Agreement were not returned to TVT. Instead, in a letter from Robinson to Lei-bowitz dated August 14, 2002, IDJ informed TVT that IDJ was rejecting the agreement embodied in the Side Letter Agreement. The evidence at trial also indicates that the execution copies of the Side Letter Agreement had actually been signed by Jeffrey Kempler (“Kempler”), IDJ’s senior vice president of business and legal affairs, sometime in late 2001 and had been stored at IDJ’s offices. The evidence further indicates that sometime in early to mid-August 2002, at or around the time IDJ’s rejection letter was sent to TVT, Kempler crossed out his signature on this document. In or around June 2002, TVT granted IDJ’s request for a license to use a musical composition and a TVT sound recording entitled “Get Tha Fortune” in a digital video disc entitled “Irv Gotti Presents: The Inc.” (the “DVD”) which IDJ marketed and distributed. TVT indicates that it relied on representations that IDJ had consented to the CMC Album project, believing the publicity from the DVD would benefit the market performance of the CMC Album contemplated for release later that year. TVT granted IDJ permission to utilize this material prior to IDJ’s written rejection or renunciation of the Side Letter Agreement. On this same theory, Gottlieb also granted Gotti permission to use one of the CMC Album songs delivered in rough form to TVT, called “The Rain,” on the “Irv Gotti Presents: The Inc.” compact disc (the “CD”). On March 7, 2003, the Friday before the Monday that trial of this matter was scheduled to commence, IDJ delivered to TVT a letter and accompanying documents indicating that by this means IDJ had formally agreed to the Side Letter Agreement and consented to the CMC Album project. This delivery was preceded by two related events: an oral waiver of ID J’s exclusivity rights to the Artists’ services expressed by Cohen during his deposition on March 5, 2003, two days earlier; and a February 26, 2003 delivery of a putative CMC Album materials represented to be in final form. A similar delivery of a purportedly finished CMC Album was made to Gottlieb’s apartment on April 25, 2003, the Friday before the Monday on which the damages phase of the trial of this action commenced. Evidence at trial indicates that none of these materials could be properly characterized as constituting a CMC Album in final form accepted by TVT. III. DISCUSSION A. STANDARDS OF REVIEW The moving party bears a heavy burden to prevail on a motion for judgment as a matter of law under Federal Rule of Civil Procedure 50(b). Such an application is appropriately granted where “there is no legally sufficient evidentiary basis for a reasonable jury to find for a party.” Merrill Lynch Interfunding, Inc. v. Argenti, 155 F.3d 113, 120 (2d Cir.1998). The Court may not arrive at this determination by evaluating the credibility of witnesses or the relative weight of the evidence. Rather, in assessing a motion for judgment under Rule 50, the Court must view the evidence in the light most favorable to the non-movant. See Caruolo v. John Crane, Inc., 226 F.3d 46, 51 (2d Cir.2000). To grant a Rule 50(b) application, there must be “such a complete absence of evidence supporting the verdict that the jury’s findings could only have been the result of mere surmise and conjecture, or ... such an overwhelming amount of evidence in favor of the movant that reasonable and fair minded men could not arrive at a verdict against [it].” Concerned Area Residents for the Environment v. Southview Farm, 34 F.3d 114, 117 (2d Cir.1994) (quoting Song v. Ives Labs., Inc., 957 F.2d 1041, 1046 (2d Cir.1992) (citations omitted)). Moreover, arguments not raised in a preceding Rule 50(a) application are not properly preserved for review in a subsequent Rule 50(b) motion. See Holmes v. United States, 85 F.3d 956, 963 (2d Cir.1996) (“The issue was not mentioned in the ... Rule 50(a) motion.... We therefore have no occasion to rule on this ... claim.”); Cruz v. Local Union No. 3, 34 F.3d 1148, 1155 (2d Cir.1994) (“If an issue is not raised in a previous motion for a directed verdict, a Rule 50(b) motion should not be granted unless it is required to prevent manifest injustice.” (citations omitted; internal quotations omitted)). The standard for granting a Rule 59 motion is less stringent. First, the trial judge may weigh the evidence himself and need not view it in the light most favorable to the non-movant and, second, the motion may be granted even if substantial evidence may support the jury’s verdict. See DLC Mgmt. Corp. v. Town of Hyde Park, 163 F.3d 124, 134 (2d Cir.1998); Sharkey v. Lasmo (Aul Ltd.), 55 F.Supp.2d 279, 283 (S.D.N.Y.1999), aff'd, 214 F.3d 371 (2d Cir. 2000). The Court may grant a new trial “if it is convinced that the jury had reached a seriously erroneous result or that the verdict is a miscarriage of justice.” Song, 957 F.2d at 1047 (citations omitted; internal quotations omitted); accord Katara v. D.E. Jones Commodities, 835 F.2d 966, 970 (2d Cir.1987). While the Court may grant a new trial even where substantial evidence supports the jury’s verdict, the Second Circuit has cautioned that “the jury is empowered and capable of evaluating a witness’s credibility, and this evaluation should rarely be disturbed.” Dunlap-McCuller v. Riese Org., 980 F.2d 153, 158 (2d Cir.1992). Moreover, absent plain error, the Court will not review issues set forth as bases for a new trial pursuant to Rule 59 for which no timely objection was raised at trial. See, e.g., Fed.R.Evid. 103; Schaafsma v. Morin Vermont Corp., 802 F.2d 629, 636 (2d Cir.1986) (“Unless this was plain error, plaintiffs’ failure to object to the [issues now raised] on this ground precludes our review.... Moreover, the purpose of the contemporaneous objection rule ... is to alert the trial judge to his error so that he can correct it .... ”); Palmieri v. Celebrity Cruise Lines, Inc., No. 98 Civ.2037 LAP HBP, 2000 WL 310341, at * 4 (S.D.N.Y. Mar. 27, 2000) (“A principle that strikes very deep is that a new trial will not be granted on grounds not called to the court’s attention during the trial unless the error was so fundamental that gross injustice would result.” (citations omitted; internal quotations omitted)); see also Memorial Drive Consultants, Inc. v. ONY, Inc., No. 96 Civ. 0702E(F), 2001 WL 241781, at *6 (W.D.N.Y. Mar. 7, 2001) (“Pursuant to Rule 103 of the Federal Rules of Evidence, the party seeking a new trial must have made a timely objection or offer of proof to preserve the evidentiary issue for review.”); Hardy v. Saliva Diagnostic Sys., Inc., 52 F.Supp.2d 333, 340 (D.Conn. Mar.17, 1999) (“The burden of showing the harmful error rests with the moving party ..., and unless there is ‘plain error,’ failure to object to an issue during trial precludes review of that issue on a motion for a new trial.” (citations omitted)). B. DEFENDANTS’ RULE 50(b) MOTIONS Defendants set forth numerous claims in support of their motions for judgment as a matter of law pursuant to Rule 50(b). The Court will address each in turn. 1. Tortious Interference With Contractual Relations: Parties to the Heads of Agreement and Economic Justification Defendants argue that TVT’s claim of tortious interference with contractual relations must be dismissed, and that the jury’s verdict accordingly must be set aside, because the Defendants are parties to the contract that was interfered with, namely, the Heads of Agreement. Defendants posit two arguments in support of their claim that they were parties to the Heads of Agreement: that IDJ was a party because Murder, Inc., a party to the Heads of Agreement, was founded as a joint venture between Gotti and IDJ; and that IDJ was a party to the Side Letter Agreement which was incorporated into the Heads of Agreement. Defendants also assert a defense of economic justification. The latter two arguments were raised by Defendants in their motion for summary judgment. The Court fully considered and ultimately rejected those arguments in a Decision and Oder dated February 13, 2003, see TVT Records v. The Island Def Jam Music Group, 244 F.Supp.2d 263, 273-75 (S.D.N.Y.2003); see also TVT Records v. The Island Def Jam Music Group, No. 02 Civ. 6644 (VM), 2003 WL 1858151, at *4 (S.D.N.Y. Apr. 9, 2003) (same arguments presented and rejected in context of Defendants’ motion for judgment as a matter of law pursuant to Fed.R.Civ.P. 50(a) following liability phase), and for the reasons stated therein, these arguments remain unpersuasive as recast in the present context. The Court is also unpersuaded by Defendant’s remaining argument, namely, that by virtue of IDJ’s joint venture relationship with Murder Inc., which was a party to the Heads of Agreement, they, too, were parties to that agreement. Pri- or to the commencement of the trial of this matter, the Defendants submitted to the Court various motions in limine. One of those motions concerned the admissibility of certain statements by Gotti, the principal of Murder Inc. TVT claimed that Gotti’s statements were those of a party opponent in that the relationship between Murder Inc. and IDJ effectively rendered Gotti an agent of that defendant. In response, IDJ and Cohen argued as follows: Gotti’s alleged statements are not admissible against IDJ for the simple reason that they cannot be attributed to IDJ. IDJ and Gotti are joint venture partners, but the statements at issue do not concern that business. Rather, they concern a business project separate from the IDJ/Gotti joint venture. Under the Limited Liability Company Agreement, dated December 17, 2001, which establishes the joint venture between IDJ and Gotti (the “Joint Venture Agreement”), Gotti is to serve as talent finder and producer to IDJ on an exclusive basis. To the extent that Gotti had any discussions with Mr. Leach or Mr. Gottlieb regarding an agreement to provide these very services to TVT, his actions were in conflict with the express terms of the Joint Venture Agreement, and thus could not, by definition, have been made within the scope of the joint venture. As such, Gotti’s alleged statements cannot be attributed to IDJ as an admission of a party-opponent. (Memorandum Of Law In Support Of Defendants-Counterclaimant’s Motion In Limine To Preclude TVT From Introducing Hearsay Statements Of Irv Gotti dated February 28, 2003 at 4 (emphasis added).) By Defendants’ own characterization, then, Gotti’s and Murder Inc.’s participation in the CMC Album project with TVT lay outside the scope of the joint venture agreement between Gotti and IDJ. In fact, repeatedly and emphatically throughout the liability phase of the trial, Defendants insisted that Gotti’s statements and actions concerning the CMC Album project were made solely on behalf of Murder Inc. and could not be attributed to IDJ under agency principles. Based on these representations of Gotti’s relationship to IDJ and the materials then on the record, the Court so ruled. (See Liability Tr. at 1014-18 (argument by the parties and Court’s ruling that “I cannot say as a matter of law that Mr. Gotti was an agent .... ”)) Consequently, to the extent Defendants accurately characterized Gotti’s and Murder, Ine.’s involvement in the Heads of Agreement as a “business project separate from the IDJ/Gotti joint venture,” they cannot now invoke that very joint venture agreement as a basis to assert themselves as parties to the Heads of Agreement. Also, in their Rule 50(a) motions, neither Defendant raised the argument that IDJ was a party to the Heads of Agreement by virtue of Murder Inc.’s involvement. Therefore, the argument must be dismissed on this basis as well. See Holmes, 85 F.3d at 963; Cruz, 34 F.3d at 1155. 2. Tortious Interference With Contractual Relations: Scope of Cohen’s Employment Cohen raises an additional argument in support of his motion for judgment as a matter of law as regards TVT’s claim of tortious interference with contractual relations against him. Cohen relies on Petkanas v. Kooyman, 303 A.D.2d 303, 759 N.Y.S.2d 1 (2003), to argue that the jury’s verdict must be set aside because TVT failed to prove that Cohen acted beyond the scope of his employment and with the intent to harm TVT’s business for his own personal gain. Initially, the Court notes that Cohen raised this argument for the first time in his Rule 50(a) motion presented during the damages phase of this litigation. As the matter at hand relates to the sufficiency of the evidence concerning liability and not damages, the matter was improperly raised during the damages phase and instead should have been raised as part of his Rule 50(a) motion presented during the liability phase. As grounds for judgment as a matter of law under Rule 50(b) must have been properly asserted pursuant to a motion under Rule 50(a), this argument must be dismissed on this basis. See Holmes, 85 F.3d at 963; Cruz, 34 F.3d at 1155. Nonetheless, the Court will address the argument here and identify an independent basis to reject the claim, noting that it fails not on the evidence but on the law. The requirements of activity beyond the scope of employment, malice, and personal gain invoked by Cohen are referenced out of context. That heightened standard applies when a corporate officer is accused of tortiously interfering with, or inducing the breach of, a contract between that officer’s employer corporation and a third party. See, e.g., Maillet v. Frontpoint Partners, L.L.C., No. 02 Civ. 7865(GBD), 2003 WL 21355218, at *2 (S.D.N.Y. June 10, 2003) (“Under ... New York law, officers and directors are only hable for interfering with their own, company’s contracts if they exceed the scope of their authority.” (emphasis added)); The High View Fund, L.P. v. Hall, 27 F.Supp.2d 420, 429-30 (S.D.N.Y.1998) (holding that a director of a corporation “may be held hable for tor-tious interference with the corporation’s contracts if she exceeds the scope of her corporate authority in causing the breach of those contracts.” (emphasis added)); Petkanas, 303 A.D.2d 303, 759 N.Y.S.2d at 2 (“[A] cause of action seeking to hold corporate officials personahy responsible for the corporation’s breach of contract is governed by an enhanced pleading standard.” (citation omitted; emphasis added; internal quotations omitted)); Hoag v. Chancellor, Inc., 246 A.D.2d 224, 677 N.Y.S.2d 531, 534 (1998) (“To establish a corporate officer’s liability for inducing a breach of a contract between the corporation and a third party, the complaint must allege that the officers’ ... acts were taken outside the scope of their employment or that they personahy profited from their acts.” (citations omitted; emphasis added; internal quotations omitted)). The theory underlying this special treatment of corporate officials derives from the principle that one cannot be hable for interfering with one’s own contract. See, e.g., Tejidos Chardin, S.A. v. Turkie, No. 97 Civ. 4643(JSM), 1998 WL 886986, at *1 (S.D.N.Y. Dec.18, 1998) (“Where the corporate officer/director is acting within the scope of his or her authority, the officer/director is not a third party vis-a-vis the corporation and as such can not interfere with its own contract.”); Solow v. Stone, 994 F.Supp. 173, 181 (S.D.N.Y.1998) (“A corporation’s officer or director generally cannot be held liable under a theory of tortious interference for causing the corporation to breach a contract.... [This principle is] consistent with the principle that a defendant cannot tortiously interfere with a contract if he is not a third party unrelated to the contract.” (citations omitted; internal quotations omitted)). Outside of that particular situation — that is, where, -as here, the corporate official’s employer company is not a party to the affected contract—the Second Circuit has held that “a corporate officer who controls corporate conduct and thus is an active individual participant in that conduct is liable for the torts of the corporation.” State of New York v. Shore Realty Corp., 759 F.2d 1032, 1052 (2d Cir.1985). Likewise, this Court has previously held that “New York law provides that a corporate officer who participates in the commission of a tort, even if he acts on behalf of the corporation and in the course of his corporate duties, may ordinarily be held individually responsible.” Davidcraft Corp. v. Danu Int'l Inc., No. 90 Civ. 6578(CMM), 1992 WL 162997, at *6 (S.D.N.Y. June 24, 1992); Nat’l Survival Game v. Skirmish, USA Inc., 603 F.Supp. 339, 341 (S.D.N.Y. 1985) (same). The contract that is the subject of TVT’s tortious interference claim is the Heads of Agreement. Indeed, while TVT asserted a breach of contract claim against IDJ for breaching the Side Letter Agreement, no corresponding claim was asserted against Cohen, presumably in recognition of this line of authority. Because, for reasons previously indicated, IDJ was not a party to the Heads of Agreement, the heightened showing of malice, personal gain, and activity beyond the scope of employment are inapposite, and Cohen’s argument on this basis is without merit. 3. Fraud By Fraudulent Concealment: Duplicative of Breach of Contract and the Defendants’ Duty To Disclose Defendants next argue that the jury’s verdict of liability for fraud by fraudulent concealment is unsustainable as a matter of law because the Defendants’ failure to disclose an intent not to perform is dupli-cative of TVT’s breach of contract claim. This Court previously addressed these arguments, raised pursuant to the Defendants’ motion for summary judgment, concluding that the contentions lacked merit. See TVT Records, 244 F.Supp.2d at 275-77. For the reasons stated therein, the Defendants’ arguments are again rejected. Defendants also argue that they had no duty to disclose their intent not to perform because no fiduciary relationship existed between them and TVT. This argument must be dismissed as it was not raised pursuant to the Defendants’ Rule 50(a) motion made during the liability phase of the trial of this matter. See Holmes, 85 F.3d at 963; Cruz, 34 F.3d at 1155. The argument, more substantively, represents a selective, and thus unpersuasive, reading of the law. It is well settled that New York law imposes a duty to disclose for purposes of fraudulent concealment liability not only in cases involving a fiduciary or confidential relationship, which Defendants indicate, but also when (1) a party makes a partial or ambiguous statement that requires clarification, and when (2) one party has superior knowledge of certain information that is not readily available to the other party and the first party knows that the second party is acting on the basis of mistaken knowledge. See Banque Arabe Et Internationale D’Investissement v. Maryland Nat’l Bank, 57 F.3d 146, 155 (2d Cir.1995); Brass v. American Film Technologies, Inc., 987 F.2d 142, 150, 151-52 (2d Cir.1993). The relevant superior knowledge possessed by Defendants is reflected in the jury’s verdict of liability for breach of contract, fraud by fraudulent concealment, and copyright infringement (insofar as the license defense was rejected). It includes their intent not to perform in accordance with their representations to TVT—that is, their undisclosed intent not to permit the Artists to participate in the CMC Album project—coupled with their desire to placate the Artists, who had expressed interest in the CMC Album project, pending their contract re-negotiations with IDJ. Furthermore, with respect to partial disclosures and ambiguous statements, Cohen himself testified that he was “unclear” to TVT about IDJ’s position as regards its assent to the CMC Album, and, similarly, Kempler admitted that in the face of the parties’ representations and profit sharing and logistical negotiations concerning the CMC Album project, no one at IDJ responded to Leibowitz’s November 15, 2001 letter to IDJ on behalf of TVT indicating that TVT was relying on verbal assurances of IDJ’s consent to the CMC Album project, (Liability Tr. at 301-805). Defendants’ argument for judgment as a matter of law with respect to the jury’s finding of liability against them for fraud by fraudulent concealment, based on their claim that they were not bound by any duty to disclose, must therefore be rejected on this basis as well. 4. Copyright Infringement; Validity of the Licenses and Knowledge of Ownership Defendants argue that the evidence is insufficient to support the jury’s finding of liability for copyright infringement because the protected works in question were used pursuant to what the Defendants, even now, claim to be valid licenses. This proposition was squarely rejected by the jury’s verdict of Lability for copyright infringement as against both Defendants, thus sustaining TVT’s argument that the licenses were procured by fraud and therefore invalid. (Jury Verdict Sheet at 4-6.) Cohen further argues that the evidence was insufficient to support the jury’s finding of direct, contributory, or vicarious copyright infringement or that any such infringement was willful. The Court has already addressed these matters at least twice elsewhere. See TVT Records, 244 F.Supp.2d at 269-72 (summary judgment motion); TVT Records, 2003 WL 1858151, at *5-*6 (Rule 50(a) motion following liability phase). For the reasons there indicated, the Court finds that the evidence is sufficient to sustain the jury’s findings of liability for willful copyright infringement by IDJ and for willful direct, contributory, and vicarious copyright infringement by Cohen. Defendants do raise a new challenge to their liability for willful copyright infringement. Both claim that they did not have knowledge of TVT’s ownership in “The Rain,” and Cohen further claims he did not know “Get Tha Fortune” appeared on the “Irv Gotti Presents: The Inc.” DVD. At the outset, the Court notes that these arguments were not raised in Defendants’ motions pursuant to Rule 50(a) and must be dismissed on this basis. See Holmes, 85 F.3d at 963; Cruz, 34 F.3d at 1155. Even on the merits, though, the arguments are unpersuasive. The law does not require knowledge to establish copying for purposes of copyright infringement. Rather, the law recognizes that “[i]t is generally not possible to establish copying as a factual matter by direct evidence, as it is rare that the plaintiff has available a witness to the physical act of copying.... Therefore, copying is ordinarily established indirectly by the plaintiffs proof of access and substantial similarity.” Langman Fabrics v. Graff Californiawear, Inc., 160 F.3d 106, 115 (2d Cir.1998) (internal quotations omitted) (quoting 4 Melville Nimmer and David Nimmer, Nimmer on Copyright § 13.01[B] (1998)); see, e.g., Boisson v. Banian, Ltd., 273 F.3d 262, 267-68 (2d Cir.2001); Williams v. Crichton, 84 F.3d 581, 587 (2d Cir.1996). With respect to “The Rain,” similarity is not an issue in dispute, as the very song intended for the CMC Album was itself used, instead, on the “Irv Gotti Presents: The Inc.” CD. Regarding access, this element “may be established directly or inferred from the fact that ... a party had a reasonable possibility of viewing the prior work.” Boisson, 273 F.3d at 270 (citing Nimmer, supra § 13.02[A]). The record contains sufficient evidence to support an inference of access. The evidence indicates that IDJ and Gotti were equal partners in the Murder Inc. venture and that Murder Inc. and IDJ had offices on successive floors in the same building and worked together on numerous album releases including the “Irv Gotti Presents: The Inc.” CD and DVD. Because Gotti and Cohen, and Murder Inc. and IDJ collaborated regularly in the promotion, content screening, copyright clearance, and marketing strategy for these and other Murder Inc. releases, as the evidence indicates, Defendants clearly had sufficient access to “The Rain” to defeat Defendants’ present challenge to the jury’s verdict of liability against them. (See, e.g., Liability Tr. at 503-504, 1059, 1107-1110.) Similarly, whether Cohen did or did not know about the inclusion of “Get Tha Fortune” on the “Irv Gotti Presents: The Inc.” DVD, which was marketed and distributed by IDJ, is a credibility matter that the jury apparently resolved against Cohen based on evidence such as that discussed above detailing the extent of Cohen’s interactions with Gotti and Murder Inc. The Court finds no basis to disturb such a finding. Finally, to the extent that Defendants raise this issue of knowledge as regards not liability but willfulness, the Court, as mentioned, has already addressed the basis for this jury finding and has found the evidence sufficient to sustain it. See TVT Records, 244 F.Supp.2d at 269-72; TVT Records, 2003 WL 1858151, at *5-6. 5. Standing of TVT Music, Inc. Defendants also argue that TVT Music, Inc. has no standing to assert claims for breach of contract, tortious interference with contractual relations, or fraud against Defendants in this litigation because it was not a party to nor a third party beneficiary of the Heads of Agreement. Defendants also seek a new trial on this basis as to the assertion of these claims by TVT Records, should the Court agree that TVT Music, Inc. lacks standing, because there would be no way to allocate the jury’s award between the two plaintiffs and reduce it to reflect any such lack of standing by TVT Music, Inc. Under New York law, a third party to a contract is considered an intended third party beneficiary where that party’s “right to performance is appropriate to effectuate the intention of the parties to the contract and either the performance will satisfy a money debt obligation of the promisee to the beneficiary or the circumstances indicate that the promisee intends to give the beneficiary the benefit of the promised performance.” Vista Co. v. Columbia Pictures Industries, Inc., 725 F.Supp. 1286, 1296 (S.D.N.Y.1989) (citation omitted; emphasis in original; internal quotations omitted); Trans-Orient Marine Corp. v. Star Trading & Marine, Inc., 925 F.2d 566, 573 (2d Cir.1991); see Septembertide Publ’g, B.V. v. Stein and Day, Inc., 884 F.2d 675, 679 (2d Cir.1989); Re statement (Second) of Contracts § 302 (1981). In addition to the agreement itself, the Court looks to the surrounding circumstances in making this determination, as third party beneficiaries need not be named in the agreement at issue. See Trans-Orient Marine Corp., 925 F.2d at 573; Septembertide Publ’g., 884 F.2d at 679; Vista Co., 725 F.Supp. at 1296. TVT Music, Inc. is a wholly owned subsidiary of Tee Vee Toons, Inc., which does business as TVT Records. TVT Records and TVT Music, Inc. are the named plaintiffs in this action. TVT Music, Inc. is the publishing arm of Tee Vee Toons, Inc. and its business enterprise. (Liability Tr. at 1457.) While TVT Music, Inc. was not a designated signatory to the Heads of Agreement, Tee Vee Toons, Inc., its parent company, was a designated signatory party. The breakdown of revenues that would flow from the Heads of Agreement, had the CMC Album actually been produced and marketed, in reflection of TVT’s business enterprise allotting publishing responsibility to TVT Music, Inc. is governed by the corporate structure and business relationship between those entities, and its precise terms are immaterial. What matters is that TVT Music, Inc. would have received from Tee Vee Toons, Inc.—a promisee of and party to the heads of Agreement—a benefit in the form of music publishing revenues for such services furnished to Tee Vee Toons, Inc. in connection with the CMC Album. Furthermore, Defendants, given their knowledge of the industry and, more specifically, of IDJ’s own place within a larger corporate structure with generally similar allocations of publishing responsibilities to specific affiliates, knew or should have known that some such benefit would run to TVT Music, Inc. Therefore, TVT Music, Inc.’s right to performance—namely, to receive the music publishing benefits directed to it by Tee Vee Toons, Inc., a designated signatory party—is appropriate to effectuate this allocation of responsibility within TVT’s business enterprise and corporate structures, and is reasonable in light of IDJ’s constructive, if not actual, knowledge of the same. Accordingly, the Defendants’ challenge to the standing of TVT Music, Inc. to assert breach of contract, tortious interference with contractual relations, and fraud against them is rejected, as is their request for a new trial on this basis. 6. Punitive Damages: Existence of Malice and a Public Aim Defendants challenge the sufficiency of the evidence to support the jury’s award of punitive damages, in connection with its finding of liability for breach of contract and fraud, on the grounds that the evidence was insufficient to establish malice or gross, wanton, or willful conduct and the existence of a public aim. They also challenge the sufficiency of the jury’s punitive damages award in connection with its finding of liability against Defendants for tortious interference with contractual relations on the ground that the evidence was insufficient to demonstrate the requisite malice or gross, wanton, or willful conduct. These arguments have been exhaustively addressed and rejected by this Court pursuant to the Defendants’ motions for judgment as a matter of law under Rule 50(a) made during the damages phase of the trial of this matter. See TVT Records v. The Island Def Jam Music Group, 262 F.Supp.2d 188, 191-98 (S.D.N.Y.2003). The Court reiterates its findings there expressed and sees no reason to revisit its prior determinations. 7. Double Recovery Cohen raises a general challenge to the jury’s awards of compensatory damages pursuant to TVT’s claims under New York law as reflecting an impermissible double recovery for harm TVT sustained. The Court rejects this global challenge to the jury’s awards because the Court’s jury-charge clearly and carefully instructed the jurors on the importance of avoiding such a double recovery and on how to reduce any awards they imposed to ensure that TVT recovers only once for any harm or component of harm it sustained. (Damages Tr. at 1285-86.) The Court neither sees nor has been presented with any basis to presume the jury ignored these instructions. In this vein, the Court notes a curious argument posed by Cohen challenging the compensatory damages award. Cohen claims that loss of goodwill as a component of compensatory damages for tortious interference with contractual relations is inherently temporary because any loss of goodwill resulting from TVT’s inability to release the CMC Album would be alleviated once the album were to be released. Therefore, according to Cohen, awarding TVT lost profits together with the value of this harm to its goodwill is duplicative. (Defendant Lyor Cohen’s Memorandum Of Law In Support Of His Motions For Judgment As A Matter Of Law, New Trial And/Or Remittitur (undated) (“Cohen Br.”) at 24.) Irrespective of the accuracy of such speculation, it is not lost on the Court that the CMC Album, the one at the core of this very litigation, has not been released, nor is there any indication that it can or will be released. Therefore, Cohen’s argument on this basis is meritless. 8. Loss of Goodwill IDJ challenges the sufficiency of the evidence underlying the jury’s award of damages for harm to TVT’s goodwill pursuant to its verdict of liability against IDJ for breach of contract and against both Defendants for tortious interference with contractual relations on various grounds, some old and others new. The Court will address these matters in turn. In response to the portion of Defendants’ motion pursuant to Rule 50(a) set forth during the damages phase of the trial of this matter challenging the sufficiency of the evidence of loss of goodwill, this Court identified the potential audience for TVT’s goodwill to include album purchasers as well as artists and other business entities doing business with TVT. The Court also there identified the following grounds upon which the jury, on the basis of this record, could infer loss of goodwill: advertisements promoting the anticipated CMC Album and “setting up” the marketplace for its release, which never occurred; the loss of TVT’s credit line resulting from the disruption in cash flow as a consequence, at least in part, of TVT’s inability to exploit the CMC Album as anticipated; loss of or damage to TVT’s business relationship with Gotti, a highly successful producer able to furnish services of artists like Ja Rule; and, more generally, the harm to TVT’s reputation in the industry resulting from its inability to follow through with representations of a forthcoming CMC Album release that may affect not only the confidence of its existing artists—should, for example, contract re-negotiations become necessary, as was the case between IDJ and Gotti and Ja Rule— but also that of prospective artists. See TVT Records, 262 F.Supp.2d at 190-91. As regards Gotti and Ja Rule, IDJ raises the argument that these individuals’ exclusive services contracts with IDJ render their attitudes concerning TVT’s goodwill inapposite since any business dealings between them and TVT would require IDJ’s consent. First, this argument was not raised in either of the Defendants’ Rule 50(a) motions and must be dismissed on that basis. See Holmes, 85 F.3d at 963; Cruz, 34 F.3d at 1155. More substantively, furthermore, the argument overlooks the possibility that these Artists might, as the record suggests was the case here, want to deal with TVT and convince IDJ to allow them to do so. It also overlooks the fact that employment contracts may at some point terminate. These Artists’ contracts with IDJ do not compel the result Defendants propose. Therefore, IDJ’s argument must be rejected for these reasons as well. In challenging the sufficiency of the evidence in support of the jury’s award of damages to TVT for harm to its goodwill, IDJ also argues that TVT cannot have suffered such harm because its projected sales revenues for the year 2003 had increased as compared to those for the year 2002. The Court must review the record in a light most favorable to sustaining the jury’s verdict, and, while an increase in revenue may weigh against concluding that TVT’s goodwill was harmed, it does not compel this result. The Court has sustained the sufficiency of the evidence underlying the jury’s award of damages for loss of goodwill for .the reasons summarized above. See TVT Records, 262 F.Supp.2d at 190-91. That evidence can reasonably outweigh the evidence of TVT’s revenues that IDJ references because, as a practical matter, examining a company’s revenues without similarly examining its expenses and other commitments is an incomplete understanding of that company’s financial status. Moreover, financial stability, while relevant to one of the identified bases for concluding that TVT’s goodwill was harmed, namely, the loss of TVT’s credit line, is not necessarily relevant to the other kinds of harm that can reasonably be said to have impacted TVT’s goodwill, specifically here, its business reputation and ability to keep its current artists and attract new ones. It is not the Court’s role to weigh the evidence itself but, rather, merely to determine whether a sufficient basis exists in the record to reasonably support whatever factual outcome was reached by the jury. See Nadel v. Isaksson, 321 F.3d 266, 272 (2d Cir.2003). IDJ also identifies various potential kinds of harm in the nature of loss of goodwill — e.g., dissatisfaction by retailers or album purchasers—that TVT did not introduce at trial. The failure to establish loss of goodwill on one basis does not foreclose the sufficiency of TVT’s showing on other grounds. In this regard, to the extent IDJ also may appear to argue that the applicable audience regarding loss of goodwill by TVT is confined to album purchasers based on the Court’s use of the word, “customer,” in its jury charge on the matter, the Court is not persuaded. An overall reading of the Court’s instructions indicates that such harm may depend on the impressions of any individual or entity with “the basic human tendency to do business with a merchant or provider who offers products or services of the type and quality that the customer desires and expects. ' Service of a customer and a willingness to stand behind a warranty and other representations about the quality of the products or services that are sold by a merchant are all factors in the goodwill of that business.” (Damages Tr. at 1268.) Nothing in the Court’s language can reasonably be understood to restrict the relevant audience concerning TVT’s goodwill to album purchasers, as opposed to producers, artists, or financial lenders for, as the Court indicated in its ruling on IDJ’s Rule 60(a) motion, TVT’s “customers” can include any such individual or entity doing business with TVT. See TVT Records, 262 F.Supp.2d at 190. Furthermore, the remaining challenges to the portion of the jury’s award reflecting TVT’s loss of goodwill — specifically, whether the evidence was sufficient to permit the jury to arrive at a reasonable amount or quantification of the harm suffered by TVT, whether proper causation was demonstrated, and whether the harm to TVT’s goodwill is supported by the evidence was reasonably within the contemplation of the parties at the time their agreement was reached—have been addressed by the Court in response to the parties’ motion pursuant to Rule 50(a) set forth during the damages phase of the trial of this matter. See TVT Records, 262 F.Supp.2d at 190-91. The Court there sustained the portion of the jury’s award reflecting a loss of goodwill, and the Court finds no basis to alter its conclusions in this regard. To the extent that the Court’s reasoning with respect to the sufficiency of the evidence concerning the amount of harm to TVT’s goodwill and the reasonable basis for its quantification may not have been clearly indicated in its prior ruling, the Court will here provide some elaboration. Gottlieb provided at trial an extensive explanation regarding harm akin to loss of goodwill resulting from TVT’s inability to release the CMC Album as anticipated. He explained the disruption to TVT’s business operations and the impact on his longstanding relationship with Gotti and Ja Rule. He also explained the damage, as a result of the disruption in anticipated cash flow and expense planning, to TVT’s relationship with its principal lending institution, a relationship spanning over twelve years, resulting in the loss of his credit line and TVT’s inability to obtain alternative lenders. (Damages Tr. at 404-407, 434-48.) Gottlieb included various valuations for the harms suffered, and while some of those valuations addressed matters concerning, for example, lost profits, others did address goodwill. For instance, Gottlieb testified that he believed he would require $30 million to restore his credit line. (Id. at 437.) Overall, the evidentiary record, and in particular Gottlieb’s testimony just discussed, is sufficient to permit the jury to arrive at a quantification of the harm to TVT’s goodwill with reasonable certainty. The jury was free to credit Gottlieb’s testimony on this matter, as it had previously done when rendering its liability verdicts against Defendants, and it is not the Court’s province to re-evaluate the jury’s credibility analysis in a Rule 50(b) motion. See Nadel, 321 F.3d at 272. 9. Loss of Profits IDJ also challenges the sufficiency of the evidence in support of the jury’s award of lost profits. IDJ disputes the jury’s award on the basis that TVT’s experts did not consider competition in the marketplace that would be present in a November 2002 release; that TVT has never marketed a hip hop album that sold two million units; that Gotti’s and Ja Rule’s prior successes were marketed by IDJ’s affiliates and not by TVT; and that TVT’s experts did not have specialized expertise in hip hop music. Each of these arguments addresses evidentiary weight, not sufficiency, and is therefore beyond the purview of the Court’s present analysis. See Nadel, 321 F.3d at 272. IDJ also challenges the reliability of profit projections by TVT’s expert, Bruce Kolbrenner (“Kolbrenner”) which were in large part based on Ja Rule’s and Gotti’s prior success in the marketplace, and attempts to cast the CMC Album project as a “new business enterprise” for TVT requiring greater precision in the calculation of lost profits than TVT demonstrated to the jury. The Second Circuit has explained that under New York law, [l]ost profits, though typically difficult to prove with exactitude, may be recovered to the extent that the evidence affords a sufficient basis for estimating their amount with reasonable certainty.... The fact that the precise amount of damage may be difficult to ascertain is not fatal to the claim, and doubts are generally resolved against the party in breach. Sir Speedy, Inc. v. L & P Graphics, Inc., 957 F.2d 1033, 1038 (2d Cir.1992) (citations omitted; internal quotations omitted); see S & K Sales Co., v. Nike, Inc., 816 F.2d 843, 852 (2d Cir.1987) (noting that a plaintiff “need only provide the jury with a sound basis for approximating with reasonable certainty the profits lost .... ”). The Circuit Court propounded that “[a]ny calculation of damages based on lost profits always entails a degree of uncertainty caused by the need to rely on assumptions and estimates. The mere fact that [a party] disagrees with the methodology utilized ... or [a particular] assumption ... does not render ... proof speculative.” Travellers Int’l, A.G. v. Trans World Airlines, Inc., 41 F.3d 1570, 1579 (2d Cir.1994) (citations omitted; internal quotations omitted) (noting that in previous cases, “statistical evidence was derived from historical operating statistics between the parties”); see also Record Club of Am. v. United Artists Records, Inc., 696 F.Supp. 940, 944 (S.D.N.Y.1988) (“Although it may be improper to rely on past sales as an indicator of future sales when a more accurate measure is available, there is no support for the contention that projections of past profits is improper as a matter of law.”). The Circuit Court’s explanation reflects the view articulated by the New York Court of Appeals that “[d]amages resulting from the loss of future profits are often an approximation. The law does not require that they be determined with mathematical precision. It requires only that damages be capable of measurement based upon known reliable factors without undue speculation.” Ashland Mgmt. Inc. v. Janien, 82 N.Y.2d 395, 604 N.Y.S.2d 912, 624 N.E.2d 1007, 1010-1011 (1993) (citations omitted; internal quotations omitted). Furthermore, the Second Circuit observed as regards a new business that a stricter standard is imposed, but ... whether the claim involves an established business or a new business ... the test remains the same, i.e., whether future profits can be calculated with reasonable certainty.... [T]he new business rule is not a per se rule forbidding the award of lost profits damages to new businesses, but rather an evidentiary rule that creates a higher level of proof needed to achieve reasonable certainty as to the amount of damages. Int’l Telepassport Corp. v. USFI, Inc., 89 F.3d 82, 85-86 (2d Cir.1996) (citations omitted; internal quotations omitted). On this point, the New York Court of Appeals declared: a stricter standard is imposed because there is not experience from which lost profits may be estimated with reasonable certainty and other methods of evaluation may be too speculative.... Whether the claim involves an established business or a new business, however, the test remains the same, i.e., whether future profits can be calculated with reasonable certainty. Ashland Mgmt., 604 N.Y.S.2d 912, 624 N.E.2d at 1011 (citations omitted; internal quotations omitted). The evidence introduced at trial included projections of the CMC Album’s market performance based in large part on the past performance in the marketplace of releases by Ja Rule and by Gotti. As the Court indicated in its ruling in response to Defendants’ Rule 50(a) motions, such evidence included testimony by Gotti, Berman, Gottlieb, and Kolbrenner, who generally predicted sales to range between one to three million units. See TVT Records, 262 F.Supp.2d at 190. The matter of sufficiency of the evidence proffered for introduction at trial by TVT was previously addressed by the Court in response to Defendants’ motions in limine, see TVT Records, 250 F.Supp.2d at 349-50, and, once this evidence was introduced, the Court reiterated its conclusions, in the context of Defendants’ Rule 50(a) motions, that the evidence introduced by TVT was sufficient to sustain a jury verdict awarding lost profits, see TVT Records, 262 F.Supp.2d at 190-91. Since then, the jury awarded TVT damages reflecting lost profits totaling $10,389,003.00. This figure is consistent with, and indeed arguably conservative in light of, the optimistic expectations of the CMC Album’s market performance by the witnesses identified above. It is reflective of the market performance figures offered by Kolbrenner corresponding to sales of two million units. The record reflects past market performance of album releases by Ja Rule and Gotti well beyond two million units. For example, while Ja Rule’s November 2002 release entitled “The Last Temptation,” sold only approximately 1.5 million units—in part, according to Gotti, because of content changes made as a consequence of the preliminary injunction imposed in this matter—Ja Rule’s other releases produced sales of 1.3, 3.3., and 3.6 million units, individually. Gotti produced each of these albums as well as other equally successful albums by other artists. IDJ challenges the jury’s reliance on the past performance of the Artists as a basis to project CMC Album sales and market performance. As a threshold matter, as the Court previously ruled, see TVT Records, 250 F.Supp.2d at 349, it is reasonable to rely on Gotti’s and Ja Rule’s past performance in the marketplace as guideposts for projecting CMC Album sales since Ja Rule is only one of three members of CMC and because Gotti has or would have produced the CMC Album. Furthermore, the record indicates that TVT, the largest independent music label in the United States, has a lengthy track record of successful album releases in various genres, and also has some experience exploiting urban or hip hop albums, though to a more limited extent. Given this evidence, the jury’s verdict awarding TVT lost profits was reasonably supported by the evidentiary record and cannot be considered unduly speculative. See, e.g., Care Travel Co., Ltd. v. Pan Am. World Airways, Inc., 944 F.2d 983, 994 (2d Cir.1991) (breach of exclusive sales contract by airline entitled travel agency to lost profits calculated based on projected quotient of sales by unauthorized rival to destinations within the exclusive purview of plaintiff agency); S & K Sales Co., 816 F.2d at 852 (sales during final year of contract, prior to breach, can predict future sales to determine lost profits); Contemporary Mission, Inc. v. Famous Music Corp., 557 F.2d 918, 927 (2d Cir.1977) (sustaining lost profits from royalties from future record sales, based on past record sales prior to contract breach, while finding profits from collateral benefits like tours and promotions theoretically driven by such projected sales too speculative and remote); Record Club of Am., 696 F.Supp. at 944 (following breach of licensing agreement granting record subscription club use of record company’s catalogue of albums, record club’s “lost profits equal the profits it earned under the contact in the pre-breach base period, annualized and projected throughout the life of the contract.”); PEI Export, Inc. v. Laidlaw Transit, Inc., No. 97 Civ. 0253E(H), 1999 WL 528801, at *4 (July 6, 1999) (plaintiff school bus reseller could rely on past sales prices and on industry reference material to establish lost profits from breach of contract by bus supplier despite absence of evidence either that plaintiff had entered into contracts to resell the undelivered busses or that plaintiff had even been approached by prospective purchasers); Greasy Spoon, Inc. v. Jefferson Towers, Inc., 75 N.Y.2d 792, 552 N.Y.S.2d 92, 551 N.E.2d 585, 587 (1990) (lessee was prevented by lessor from constructing sidewalk café in violation of parties’ agreement; challenge to lost profits award as unduly speculative was rejected by the New York Court of Appeals because lessee “was already operating a successful restaurant business ... [and] plaintiffs witnesses gave evidence, based upon experience, as to the level of profits that could reasonably be anticipated from the addition of a sidewalk café.... [I]n this case most of the variables that would affect the success of the thwarted business venture, i.e., location, capitalization and existing or potential clientele, were established through competent proof.”). Beyond this threshold determination, whatever the distinction between CMC, a trio including Ja Rule, and-Ja Rule as a solo artist, and its implications regarding the extent to which Ja Rule’s solo performance (and Gotti’s involvement) can predict the market performance of the group are factual and credibility matters within the province of the jury that the Court cannot reassess in connection with Rule 50(b) motions. For these reasons, and those set forth in the Court’s prior rulings referenced above, IDJ’s claim that the jury’s award of lost profits is unduly speculative and unsupported by the evidence is rejected, and its motion for judgment as a matter of law on this basis is denied. C. DEFENDANTS’ MOTIONS FOR A NEW TRIAL Defendants advance numerous theories, pointing to various events at trial, to argue that the jury’s verdict against them was the product of undue prejudice requiring a new trial. Some of the events they set forth in actuality reflect no prejudice, while others could be construed to reflect a certain amount. The 3,500 page trial record memorializes over fourteen trial days (excluding weekends and jury deliberations) during which evidence was presented and each side set forth its case to the jury. Defendants’ motion papers endeavor to present a potentially convincing case by painting a picture that selectively draws together various obviously one-sided instances throughout this record. A sober review of those underlying incidents in context and of the record as a whole, however, compels the Court to find that even if some prejudice may have occurred to the detriment of both sides in this litigation, it was not so significant, pervasive, or infectious as to constitute a basis to order a new trial. 1. Trifurcation of the Trial Cohen argues that the jury’s award of punitive damages was impermissibly tainted by the Court’s refusal to divide the trial of this dispute, beyond the bifurcation of liability and damages issues, into a three phase trial to permit the jury to separately determine the availability of punitive damages and then their amount. The Court has already fully expressed its reasoning with respect to Defendants’ request for trifur-cation. See TVT Records, 257 F.Supp.2d at 746-47. The Court finds no reason to revisit this determination, which, for the reasons set forth in the Court’s prior ruling on the matter, and is supported in law and compelled by the facts and, accordingly, not a basis for granting Defendants’ motion for a new trial. 2. Size of the Awards Cohen also points to the fact that the jury awarded TVT punitive damages against Cohen in the amount of $56,000,000.00, when his testimony and Statement of Net Worth indicates a net worth of approximately $29 million, as evidence of such bias and prejudice that the jury was incapable of following the Court’s instructions that in fixing the amount of punitive damages, the jury should consider in part each defendant’s financial resources. The significance of this apparent disparity, and the appropriate response by the Court, is addressed in and encapsulated by the Court’s discussion of the Defendants’ request for remittitur set forth in a separate Decision and Order issued simultaneously with the Court’s ruling herein. 3.References to Vivendi Universal ID J asserts a twofold argument of prejudice from TVT’s references to Vivendi Universal, IDJ’s parent corporation, namely, that evidence of that company’s wealth prejudiced the jury’s determination of the amount of punitive damages and that such references capitalized on “heightened feelings of patriotism, and anti-French sentiments, during the war with Iraq.” (Memorandum Of Law In Support Of IDJ’s Motion For A New Trial Pursuant To Fed.R.Civ.P. 59 Or, At A Minimum, For Remittitur Of The Punitive Damage Awards dated June 16, 2003 (“IDJ’s New Trial Br.”) at 17.) The former argument is essentially a challenge to the size of the jury’s verdict, and this matter is addressed in the Court’s separate ruling on the Defendants’ motions for remittitur mentioned above. Of the three citations to the trial record put forth by IDJ in support of the l