Webber v. Dash

Background

Plaintiffs Josh Webber and Muddy Water Pictures LLC sued Defendants Damon Anthony Dash and Poppington LLC over the film “Dear Frank.” The complaint alleged copyright infringement and defamation. The copyright dispute included whether Dash had an ownership or authorship interest in the Film. The defamation dispute concerned statements Dash allegedly published about the Film.

Chief Judge McMahon previously granted Plaintiffs’ motion for a preliminary injunction but described the case as involving disputed facts. She later denied Plaintiffs’ first motions for summary judgment on defamation and on copyright ownership and authorship. Her order stated that the factual disputes would require a trial.

The Later Motions

Plaintiffs filed new motions for summary judgment on copyright ownership and authorship and on defamation. The opinion states that these were filed after Chief Judge McMahon had already denied the earlier motions.

Court’s Analysis

The court applied the law-of-the-case doctrine, which is the general practice of not reopening an issue that an earlier ruling in the same case already decided. The court explained that Chief Judge McMahon had found genuine disputes of material fact in both summary-judgment matters. It found no change in the facts or law that would justify revisiting that decision and concluded that applying the doctrine would not unfairly prejudice either side.

Disposition

Judge Lewis J. Liman denied the motions for summary judgment. The Clerk of Court was directed to close Docket Nos. 115 and 122. The court also ordered that trial begin on August 10, 2020, and set a pretrial conference for July 27, 2020, at 4:00 p.m.