United States First Circuit

In a music copyright infringement suit, judgment against plaintiff-publisher is affirmed in part and reversed in part where: 1) there were material facts in dispute concerning the assignment of a copyright in a song; 2) the district court did not abuse its discretion in allocating the fees for a special master equally among the parties; 3) dismissal of plaintiff's remaining claims, counterclaims and defenses as a sanction for failure to comply with a court order was not extreme under the circumstances and did not consitute an abuse of discretion; and 4) the court was unable to determine whether the record contained sufficient undisputed evidence of infringing acts to warrant summary judgment on a third party defendant's infringement claim.

Appellate Information

• Decided 08/16/2007
• Published 08/16/2007

Judges

• DICLERICO, District Judge., Before LIPEZ, Circuit Judge, SELYA, Senior Circuit Judge, and DICLERICO, JR., District Judge.

Court

• United States First Circuit

Counsel

• For Appellant:
  
• Jane Becker Whitaker, with whom Law Offices of Jane Becker Whitaker, and Angel N. Caro, were on brief, for appellants.


• For Appellees:
  
• Richard H. Reimer, with whom Diego A. Ramos, Fiddler González & Rodriguez, PSC, Stephen S. Young, and Holland & Knight, LLP, were on brief for appellee American Society of Composers, Authors and Publishers., Barry I. Slotnick, with whom Jacques Rimokh, Loeb & Loeb, LLP and Adsuar Muñiz Goyco & Besosa, PSC, were on brief for appellees, Southern Music Publishing Co., Inc., et al.