Larball Publishing Company, Inc. v. Lipa
- Katherine Failla
- 1:22-cv-01872
- U.S. District Court · Southern District of New York
- 2
In Larball Publishing v. Lipa, Judge Failla granted Defendants more time to seek Copyright Act costs and attorneys’ fees.
The order affects the Defendants, who received an extended deadline to file a motion for costs and attorneys’ fees, and the Plaintiffs, whose potential appeal affects the timing of that deadline.
What happened
In Larball Publishing Company, Inc. v. Lipa, Defendants asked for more time to file a motion seeking costs and attorneys’ fees after the court granted their summary-judgment motion and entered judgment. Plaintiffs’ counsel consented to the request.
The court granted the application. Defendants’ deadline is now the later of May 28, 2025, or 30 days after an appeals court issues a final decision and the time for any further appeal ends. This order did not award costs or attorneys’ fees.
Judge Katherine Polk Failla also directed the Clerk of Court to terminate the pending motion at docket entry 137.
The detailed version
- Larball Publishing Company, Inc. v. Lipa · No. 1:22-cv-01872
- Katherine Failla
- Apr. 7, 2025
Background
Defendants Dua Lipa, Clarence Coffee, Jr., Sarah Hudson, Stephen Kozmeniuk, Sony Music Publishing (US) LLC, Universal Music Corporation, and Warner Records Inc. asked the court to extend the deadline for filing a motion for costs, including attorneys’ fees, under Section 505 of the Copyright Act. Their counsel stated that Plaintiffs’ counsel consented.
The request followed the court’s March 27, 2025, order granting Defendants’ motion for summary judgment. According to the application, the Clerk entered judgment and closed the case that day. Defendants argued that a possible appeal could create additional costs recoverable under Section 505 and that extending the deadline would avoid multiple fee motions. The application sought a deadline tied to the expiration of Plaintiffs’ appeal period and any appeal’s final resolution.
Ruling
The court granted the application. It extended Defendants’ deadline to file their motion for costs, including attorneys’ fees, to the longer of:
- May 28, 2025; or - 30 days after the Court of Appeals issues a final decision and the time to pursue any further appeals expires.
The order extended the filing deadline; it did not decide whether Defendants were entitled to costs or attorneys’ fees or determine the amount of any award. The court also directed the Clerk of Court to terminate the pending motion at docket entry 137.
Disposition
The application was granted. This was a procedural order concerning the timing of a possible costs-and-fees motion, not a decision on the underlying copyright dispute.
Read the full 2-page opinion on CourtListener, the free public archive maintained by the Free Law Project.