Webber v. Dash

Background

Josh Webber and Muddy Water Pictures LLC brought copyright-infringement and defamation claims against Damon Anthony Dash and Poppington LLC concerning a film initially called “The List” and later known as “Dear Frank.” After a four-day trial, the jury found that Muddy was the film’s sole copyright owner, that Defendants infringed Muddy’s copyright without willfully infringing it, and that Defendants defamed both Plaintiffs. The jury awarded Muddy $30,000 in statutory copyright damages, along with defamation damages described in the opinion.

Muddy sought attorney’s fees under Section 505 of the Copyright Act. The court explained that fees may be awarded to a prevailing party after considering factors including whether the losing position was frivolous or objectively unreasonable, the parties’ motivations, the need for compensation and deterrence, and the circumstances of the case.

Reasons for the Fee Award

The court found that Defendants’ ownership arguments came close to being objectively unreasonable but did not cross that line, and it found that the arguments were not frivolous. Even so, the court concluded that Dash’s litigation misconduct and the need for deterrence strongly supported an award. The court cited his repeated cancellation and disruption of depositions, violations of discovery orders and the preliminary injunction, personal attacks on Plaintiffs’ counsel, and repeated changes in sworn testimony about his role and ownership in the film.

The court also considered the fact that Dash had previously been found liable in another copyright dispute involving a film he worked on but did not own. It concluded that an additional fee award could help deter similar conduct.

Amount of Fees and Costs

The court used the lodestar method, which generally calculates fees by multiplying reasonable hours by a reasonable hourly rate. Muddy’s attorney submitted records showing 218.3 hours devoted to the copyright claim and requested $112,055 in attorney’s fees. The court found the requested rates and hours reasonable, despite concerns about block billing and the lack of clear separation between work that might have been performed by less senior staff. The records excluded time spent on the defamation claims.

Muddy also requested $5,829.71 in costs for trial exhibit books, hotel and parking expenses during trial, and trial-transcript fees. The court found those costs reasonable and recoverable.

Disposition

The opinion states in one earlier passage that “Defendants’ motion is GRANTED,” which conflicts with the rest of the decision. The discussion says Muddy should receive the award, and the conclusion states: “Plaintiffs’ motion is GRANTED.” The court ordered Defendants to pay $117,884.71 in reasonable attorney’s fees and costs. The opinion does not separately state that Webber received any portion of this award; the fee and cost calculations concern Muddy’s copyright claim.