Bit Parts

The Court of Appeal of California, Second Appellate District, has decided that the contractual right of Gary Wolf, author of the novel 'Who Censored Roger Rabbit?', to contingent compensation from the exploitation of his work, combined with the Walt Disney Co.'s exclusive control over the financial records of such exploitation, didn't give rise to a fiduciary relationship. Wolf v. The Superior Court of Los Angeles County, 107 Cal. App. 4th 25. Wolf had assigned the rights to his novel and the Roger Rabbit character to Disney. The Court of Appeal noted that the film studio had no obligation to maximize profits or to get Wolf's approval for contracts related exploitation of Wolf's work. The Appellate Court has denied Wolf's request for a rehearing.

Attorney Disqualification Denied

The Court of Appeals of Michigan has upheld a denial of a motion to disqualify songwriter Lamont Dozier's attorney in Dozier's royalty suit against the Motown Record Corp. and its principal Berry Gordy. Holland v. The Gordy Co., 231183. During discovery, the defendants unintentionally turned over a box of litigation files to Dozier's attorney. The defendants later filed a motion to compel return of the documents and to disqualify. In its unpublished opinion, the appeals court agreed with the trial court that there had been an ethical violation but denied disqualification because 'the trial court reserved the right to change its ruling if it was later established that plaintiffs had gained a tactical advantage by the disclosure. Moreover, discovery has been completed, which reduces the opportunity to utilize information gained from the documents to obtain other information. Additionally, a motion for costs and attorney fees is pending before the trial court and presumably will be acted upon on remand.'

The U.S. District Court for the Eastern District of New York has decided that foreign court rulings didn't affect a U.S. court's decision regarding the ownership of rights to animated movies created by the Soviet-state-owned Soyuzmultfilm Studio. Films By Jove Inc. v. Soyuzmultfilm Studios, 98-CV-7674. According to the district court, French court decisions on Russian law weren't controlling on the district court. Furthermore, a decision by the high court of the Russian Federation hadn't directly considered the ownership issue. That left intact the district court's finding that the copyrights in Soviet films belonged to the studio that produced the films.

The Supreme Court of Pennsylvania has held that the Philadelphia Eagles' media receipts from broadcasts of its football games were subject to the City of Philadelphia's Business Privilege Tax (BPT) as royalties for the licensing of a property right and were not fees for services rendered. The Philadelphia Eagles Football Club Inc. v. City of Philadelphia, 14 & 15. But under the Commerce Clause of the federal Constitution, the city must apportion the receipts between games played inside and outside the city, the Supreme Court noted.

Class Certification Upheld

The Court of Appeals of Texas, Ninth District, has held in an unpublished opinion that the trial court properly certified a statewide class of BMG Direct music club members in a suit challenging late fees charged by BMG. BMG Direct Marketing Inc. v. Peake, 09-02-509. The appeals court didn't agree with BMG that individualized inquiries would be required to determine whether class members had voluntarily paid the late fees. The appeals court noted that the named plaintiff alleged that BMG had failed to disclose all material facts in the agreement that had been entered into by all class members.

No Fiduciary Relationship

The Court of Appeal of California, Second Appellate District, has decided that the contractual right of Gary Wolf, author of the novel 'Who Censored Roger Rabbit?', to contingent compensation from the exploitation of his work, combined with the Walt Disney Co.'s exclusive control over the financial records of such exploitation, didn't give rise to a fiduciary relationship. Wolf v. The Superior Court of Los Angeles County , 107 Cal. App. 4th 25. Wolf had assigned the rights to his novel and the Roger Rabbit character to Disney. The Court of Appeal noted that the film studio had no obligation to maximize profits or to get Wolf's approval for contracts related exploitation of Wolf's work. The Appellate Court has denied Wolf's request for a rehearing.