Data Axle, Inc. v. Andrew Nolting

── Data Axle, Inc. v. Andrew Nolting ── Court: Court of Appeals for the Eighth Circuit Date: June 01, 2026 Category: General United States Court of Appeals For the Eighth Circuit ___________________________ No. 25-2068 ___________________________ Data Axle, Inc., Delaware corporation Plaintiff - Appellee v. Andrew Nolting Defendant - Appellant CFM Data Network, LLC, a Minnesota limited liability company, doing business as DataSourceOne.com; Douglas Ferrara; John Does, real names unknown and representing the individual Owners, Officers, Directors, and Members of CFM Data Network, LLC d/b/a DataSourceOne.com; Jane Does, real names unknown and representing the individual Owners, Officers, Directors, and Members of CFM Data Network, LLC d/b/a DataSourceOne.com Defendants ____________ Appeal from United States District Court for the District of Minnesota ____________ Submitted: March 19, 2026 Filed: June 1, 2026 ____________ Before COLLOTON, Chief Judge, GRUENDER and KOBES, Circuit Judges. ____________ KOBES, Circuit Judge. The issue before us is whether Andrew Nolting may immediately appeal from an order holding him in civil contempt and imposing sanctions. We conclude that he cannot and dismiss for lack of appellate jurisdiction. Data Axle, Inc. sued CFM Data Network, LLC d/b/a DataSourceOne.com (DSO) and its owner Andrew Nolting for violations of the Copyright Act and the Computer Fraud and Abuse Act, and for related state-law claims. Data Axle alleged that DSO and Nolting unlawfully accessed, copied, and licensed Data Axle’s proprietary business databases. When DSO did not answer, the district court 1 entered default judgment against it, awarded Data Axle monetary damages, and enjoined DSO and its officers from wrongfully using the copyrighted databases. The court also ordered DSO to produce an accounting of records and destroy any copies of Data Axle’s data. Nolting filed a timely answer to the complaint, so the case is proceeding against him, though it has been stayed pending this appeal. Data Axle learned after default judgment that DSO no longer existed when the judgment was entered 2 and that Nolting was selling databases on a new website. It suspected Nolting was still selling its copyrighted data and moved for an order to show cause why Nolting and DSO should not be held in contempt. After an evidentiary hearing, the district court 3 found that Data Axle had not shown that Nolting was selling Data Axle’s copyrighted information on the new website by clear and convincing evidence, but DSO had undisputedly failed to pay the money judgment, provide the accounting of records, or make any attempt to destroy the 1 The Honorable John R. Tunheim, United States District Judge for the District of Minnesota. 2 The Minnesota Secretary of State administratively terminated DSO for failure to file its annual renewal. 3 The Honorable Laura M. Provinzino, United States District Judge for the District of Minnesota. -2- copyrighted material it possessed. Although Nolting was not subject to the default judgment and had not been personally ordered to pay that judgment or comply with those orders, the court held that he nonetheless could—and would—be held in civil contempt alongside DSO as the company’s sole owner and shareholder. The contempt order required the parties to provide a joint status report explaining whether DSO and Nolting satisfied the judgment and complied with the previous orders or, if they could n