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Mike Missanelli vs. JAKIB Media: More Motions for Sanctions After Unsuccessful Deposition
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An update on the continued litigation between Mike Missanelli and JAKIB Media founder Joe Krause.
Missanelli is suing for what he says amounts to more than $50,000 in unpaid compensation, stemming from the work he did on JAKIB’s Philadelphia Eagles broadcasts. Krause says Missanelli didn’t fulfill the requirements outlined in his contract, and therefore breached the deal.
At last check, the judge presiding over the case denied, for the third time, a Krause motion to dismiss. Missanelli’s attorney was attempting to schedule a deposition, now resulting in a motion to compel and asking for sanctions after claiming that Krause never showed up:
On May 3, 2025, Defendant forwarded Plaintiff’s counsel correspondence stating that as Plaintiff’s counsel failed to arrange coordinated depositions, Defendant would not appear at his Deposition on May 6, 2025.
On May 5, 2025, Defendant filed another Motion for a Protective Order, which sought to preclude his deposition for the following day, which also happened to be the Discovery deadline, and in support of his Motion Defendant cited “Panczak v. Hennessy, 444 A.2d 752, 754-55 (Pa. Super. 1982),” a fictious (sic) non-existent case.
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On May 6, 2025, at 8:00 am Defendant sent correspondence to plaintiff’s counsel stating that he would not appear at his 10:00am deposition; however, Plaintiff’s counsel was already at the Montgomery Country Bar Association building with a court reporter awaiting arrival of the Defendant.
Missanelli’s lawyer is asking for $400 in reimbursement for the alleged no-show, and filed an order compelling Krause to appear for deposition within ten days.
He also filed a separate motion for additional sanctions, this time saying that Krause violated the judge’s order to produce a set of documents including a full copy of the contract, hyperlinks to JAKIB postgame shows and social media postings, and copies of the checks and direct deposits sent to to Missanelli. That’s based on an order signed by the judge on April 8th:
What’s next is a court hearing, scheduled for June 4th in Norristown, to discuss Missanelli’s motion to compel and sanctions. This will be the first time the case has returned to court since January, when the judge chided Krause, representing himself without a lawyer, for using Google and artificial intelligence in his legal research. The case, which remains in discovery phase, is now in its 10th month and there are 118 docket entries in the court system. Both parties claimed in 2024 that they turned down settlement offers.
Kevin has been writing about Philadelphia sports since 2009. He spent seven years in the CBS 3 sports department and started with the Union during the team's 2010 inaugural season. He went to the academic powerhouses of Boyertown High School and West Virginia University. email - k.kinkead@sportradar.com