By Chris Villani

Law360 (March 19, 2021, 11:02 AM EDT) -- A former New England Patriots player pursuing claims that a contractor stole his copyright after building his dream home argued Thursday that the upcoming trial should be held in person so he can confront the defendants face to face.

Ex-linebacker Matt Chatham and his wife Erin told U.S. District Judge Indira Talwani that the COVID-19 pandemic should not require their upcoming 12-day bench trial to become an online affair.

"Plaintiffs' lives have been upended, to put it kindly, by these defendants for the past 4+ years, and plaintiffs both wish to confront the defendants live in court and feel strongly that virtual testimony will simply be inadequate," the couple's attorneys wrote in an opposition to the contractor's bid to hold the trial virtually.

Canterbury Ventures LLC and its owner, Daniel Lewis, agreed in November to hold the trial in person, according to court filings. The Chathams say the defendants are now trying to renege on that agreement and that the timing of their motion "calls into question the actual reasons for its being filed."

Canterbury has argued that forcing its lawyers and trial witnesses to come into the Boston federal courthouse would increase their risk of contracting COVID-19 and noted that all its attorneys are at least 53 years old.

But the Chathams countered that this factor existed at the time the defendants agreed to a live trial. The defense has said that "not all of" Lewis and his three trial counsel have been vaccinated, suggesting that some of them have been, the Chathams argued.

The severity of the pandemic has also decreased relative to November when Canterbury and Lewis agreed to the in-person trial, the Chathams said.

The trial is scheduled for April 12. Counsel for the parties are scheduled to be in Judge Talwani's courtroom in person on April 8 for a pretrial conference.

Counsel for Canterbury and Lewis declined to comment. Counsel for the Chathams did not respond to a request for comment Friday.

The Chathams sued in 2017, claiming Canterbury and Lewis breached a contract and infringed copyrights by selling to someone else the house the former Patriot claims he personally designed for his own family. During the litigation, which has been notably contentious and included multiple motions for sanctions on both sides, another family moved into the home.

That family's lease is set to expire at the end of April and the Chathams wrote Thursday that they expect the property to be vacant May 1.

"To the extent that this motion serves as a precursor to delay trial and to move to allow the current residents to extend the lease on the house, plaintiffs vigorously oppose such a chain of events," the opposition states. "The court will recall that defendants snuck the [family leasing the house] in under the cover of night, without informing plaintiffs or the court that it was seeking to lease the house or that it had, in fact, leased the house — plaintiffs only discovered that the house was being leased when they were informed that a moving van was parked at the property, unloading someone's belongings into the house."

Lewis' motion, filed earlier in March, makes no mention of the other family, but focuses only on the health risks he says his lawyers and other trial participants may face if they have to come to court.

"Conducting the trial over a virtual platform will allow the parties, their counsel, the witnesses and court personnel to avoid an unnecessary health risk, with no significant detriment to the trial proceedings," the motion states. "In contrast, a single exposure by a trial participant could result in the trial and the court session being shut down."

A federal magistrate judge recommended in September that Canterbury face the suit, saying there is evidence that Chatham's design is copyrightable and that the copyright had not been relinquished.

Canterbury claims that Chatham never asserted his copyright to the design of the home, but the judge ruled that copyright is vested when the work is created and that such a formal assertion is not necessary.

Chatham, who played for the Patriots from 2000 to 2005, argues he owns a copyright to the blueprints and says Canterbury caused construction delays, charged unreasonable fees and ultimately reached an unlawful deal to sell the home to the different family in August 2017.

The Chathams are represented by Thomas P. McNulty, John N. Anastasi and Nathan T. Harris of Lando & Anastasi LLP and Paul R. Mordarski of Morrissey Hawkins & Lynch.

Canterbury and Lewis are represented by Mark Corner of Riemer & Braunstein LLP and Robert R. Brunelli and Scott R. Bialecki of Sheridan Ross PC.

The case is Chatham et al. v. Canterbury Ventures LLC et al., case number 1:17-cv-11473, in the U.S. District Court for the District of Massachusetts.

--Editing by Alyssa Miller.

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