Latin American Music Company, Inc. v. Spanish Broadcasting System, Inc.
- Richard Sullivan
- 1:13-cv-01526
- U.S. District Court · Southern District of New York
- 3
In Latin American Music v. Spanish Broadcasting, Judge Sullivan granted SBS permission to register its fee judgment against LAMCO and ACEMLA in Puerto Rico.
The order affects Spanish Broadcasting System, Inc., which may register and pursue enforcement of its existing fee judgment in the District of Puerto Rico, and LAMCO and ACEMLA, which are jointly and individually liable under that judgment. The judgment also directs payment of the remaining amount to non-party indemnitor Broadcast Music, Inc.
What happened
Latin American Music Company, Inc. v. Spanish Broadcasting System, Inc. concerned Spanish Broadcasting System’s request to register a prior judgment in Puerto Rico while Latin American Music Company and Asociación de Compositores y Editores de Música Latinoamericana’s appeal was pending.
The earlier judgment required the plaintiffs to pay $845,040.95 in attorneys’ fees and costs, including $503,393.05 to Spanish Broadcasting. Spanish Broadcasting showed that the plaintiffs had no real or personal property found in New York but had assets in Puerto Rico. The plaintiffs did not oppose the request or provide evidence against it.
Judge Sullivan granted Spanish Broadcasting’s motion and directed the Clerk to issue a certified copy of the judgment for filing in Puerto Rico. The order did not revisit the underlying fee judgment.
The detailed version
- Latin American Music Company, Inc. v. Spanish Broadcasting System, Inc. · No. 1:13-cv-01526
- Richard Sullivan
- May 7, 2021
Background
On July 17, 2020, the court entered a judgment holding Latin American Music Company, Inc. (LAMCO) and Asociación de Compositores y Editores de Música Latinoamericana de Puerto Rico, Inc. (ACEMLA) jointly and individually responsible for $845,040.95 in attorneys’ fees and costs. The judgment directed the plaintiffs to pay $503,393.05 to Spanish Broadcasting System, Inc. (SBS), with the balance payable to non-party indemnitor Broadcast Music, Inc.
The plaintiffs appealed the judgment but had not posted a bond or requested a stay preventing enforcement. On January 15, 2021, SBS moved under 28 U.S.C. § 1963 to register the judgment in the U.S. District Court for the District of Puerto Rico while the appeal was pending. Registration allows a judgment entered in one federal district to be filed and enforced in another district when the judgment is final on appeal or when the issuing court orders registration for good cause.
Court’s Analysis
The court explained that good cause may be shown when the judgment debtor has substantial property in the other district and insufficient property in the district that issued the judgment. Exact proof of the debtor’s assets is not required; affidavits and other documents may be enough.
SBS submitted a public-records search showing no real or personal property owned by the plaintiffs in New York. It also submitted the plaintiffs’ sworn declarations from bankruptcy filings in Puerto Rico, which showed that the plaintiffs had assets there. The plaintiffs did not object, submit contrary evidence, or provide a substantial reason against registration.
Disposition
The court held that SBS had established good cause and granted SBS’s motion to register the judgment in the District of Puerto Rico. The Clerk of Court was directed to terminate the motion at Document Number 232 and issue a certified copy of the judgment for filing in Puerto Rico. The order addressed registration of the existing judgment; it did not decide the merits of the underlying dispute or alter the judgment’s stated amounts.
Read the full 3-page opinion on CourtListener, the free public archive maintained by the Free Law Project.