Margaret Morris v. Kenneth Atchity et al
Filing
215
ORDER by Judge Ronald S.W. Lew, denying Defendants' MOTION for Attorney Fees 191 . The Court has broad discretion in awarding attorney's fees and finds that Defendants have not established that the factors set forth by the Supreme Court i n Fogerty v. Fantasy, Inc., 510 U.S. 517 (1994), weigh in favor of an award of attorney's fees here. Namely, the Court finds that there is not a sufficientshowing of Plaintiff's unreasonableness, frivolousness, and improper motivation in pursuing a case against Defendants. Also, the Court finds that the possible chilling effect on potential plaintiffs seeking to protect their copyrighted material weighs against awarding attorney's fees here. (lom)
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UNITED STATES DISTRICT COURT
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CENTRAL DISTRICT OF CALIFORNIA
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11 MARGARET MORRIS, an
individual
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Plaintiff,
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vs.
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KENNETH ATCHITY, et al.,
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Defendants.
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CV 08-5321-RSWL (JCx)
ORDER Re: Defendants’
Motion for Attorney’s
Fees [191]
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On September 14, 2011, Defendants Kenneth Atchity,
22 Atchity Entertainment International, John Reid, Sonic
23 Age, Ltd., and The Writer’s Lifeline’s (“Defendants”)
24 Motion for Attorney’s Fees [191] came on for regular
25 calendar before the Court.
The Court having reviewed
26 all papers submitted pertaining to this Motion and
27 having considered all arguments presented to the Court,
28 NOW FINDS AND RULES AS FOLLOWS:
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Defendants’ Motion for Attorney’s Fees is DENIED.
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On April 12, 2011, a six-day trial commenced in
3 this Action.
4 verdict [181].
On April 20, 2011, the jury returned its
The jury found that Defendants did not
5 infringe on Plaintiff Margaret Morris’s copyright; that
6 Defendant Sonic Age had breached an implied contract
7 with Plaintiff, awarding Plaintiff $70,000.00 in
8 damages arising from this breach; that Defendant The
9 Writer’s Lifeline had not breached an implied contract
10 with Plaintiff; and that Plaintiff had defamed
11 Defendant Kenneth Atchity, awarding Defendant Atchity
12 $1.00 in damages arising from this defamation.
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On July 6, 2011, Defendants filed this present
14 Motion for Attorney’s Fees [191], seeking $185,780.70
15 in attorney’s fees.
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First, as a threshold issue, the Court finds that
17 Defendants are the prevailing party under the Copyright
18 Act.
The jury returned its verdict of non-
19 infringement, and as such Defendants prevailed on this
20 copyright infringement claim.
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However, the Court has broad discretion in awarding
22 attorney’s fees and finds that Defendants have not
23 established that the factors set forth by the Supreme
24 Court in Fogerty v. Fantasy, Inc., 510 U.S. 517 (1994),
25 weigh in favor of an award of attorney’s fees here.
26 Namely, the Court finds that there is not a sufficient
27 showing of Plaintiff’s unreasonableness, frivolousness,
28 and improper motivation in pursuing a case against
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1 Defendants.
Also, the Court finds that the possible
2 chilling effect on potential plaintiffs seeking to
3 protect their copyrighted material weighs against
4 awarding attorney’s fees here.
Therefore, Defendants’
5 Motion for Attorney’s Fees is DENIED.
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7 IT IS SO ORDERED.
8 DATED: September 20, 2011
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HONORABLE RONALD S.W. LEW
Senior, U.S. District Court Judge
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