United States Second Circuit

In deciding the motion to dismiss plaintiff-musicians' copyright claims, it was improper for the district court to consider defendants' affidavits and contracts attached to them, while failing to consider other pertinent evidence that could have been submitted had the motion to dismiss been converted to one for summary judgment.

Appellate Information

• Argued 12/11/2001
• Decided 02/21/2002
• Published 02/22/2002

Judges

• B.D. PARKER, JR., Circuit Judge., Before:  CARDAMONE, POOLER, and B.D. PARKER, Jr., Circuit Judges.

Court

• United States Second Circuit

Counsel

• For Appellant:
  
• Mark C. Rifkin, Feldman & Rifkin, Jenkintown, PA (Frederick Isquith, Wolf Haldenstein Adler Freeman & Herz, New York, NY, Lawrence E. Feldman, Feldman & Rifkin, Jenkintown, PA, on the brief), for Plaintiffs-Appellants.


• For Appellees:
  
• Katherine B. Forrest, Cravath, Swaine & Moore, New York, NY (Jay Cohen, Paul, Weiss, Rifkind, Wharton & Garrison, New York, NY, Charles B. Ortner, Proskauer Rose, New York, NY, Andrew H. Bart, Susan Arden, Pryor, Cashman, Sherman & Flynn, New York, NY, and Russell J. Frackman, Jeffrey D. Goldman, Mitchell, Silberberg & Knupp, Los Angeles, CA, on the brief), for Defendants-Appellees Time Warner, Inc., Sony Corporation of America, BMG Entertainment, Inc., and Universal Music Group, Inc., Jeffrey A. Conciatori, Orrick, Herrington & Sutcliffe, New York, NY (Michael B. Carlinksy, Lisa T. Simpson, and Margret M. Caruso, on the brief), for Defendant-Appellee MP3.Com.