Johnson v. Sony Music Entertainment
- Laura Swain
- 1:23-cv-10369
- U.S. District Court · Southern District of New York
- 5
In Johnson v. Sony Music Publishing, Chief Judge Swain transferred Johnson’s case to Georgia because the Northern District of Georgia was the favored forum.
Sheri C. Johnson and the five named defendants are affected by the transfer; the Northern District of Georgia will handle the case going forward.
What happened
Sheri C. Johnson, representing herself, sued Sony Music Publishing (US) LLC and four other defendants, alleging that they used her music and lyrics in songs without permission. She also brought state-law claims, including defamation, fraud, negligence, sexual harassment, stalking, emotional distress, and harassment.
The Southern District of New York found that the case’s proper location was uncertain because the defendants were located in New York and Georgia and the alleged events occurred worldwide. The court also noted that Johnson had previously filed a substantially similar case in the Northern District of Georgia, making Georgia the preferred forum.
Chief Judge Laura Taylor Swain ordered the case transferred to the Northern District of Georgia under the federal transfer statute. The New York court closed the case there, directed that summonses not issue from that court, and left all pending matters for the receiving court.
The detailed version
- Johnson v. Sony Music Entertainment · No. 1:23-cv-10369
- Laura Swain
- May 9, 2024
Background
Sheri C. Johnson brought this action without a lawyer, invoking federal-question and diversity jurisdiction. She alleged that the defendants infringed her copyrighted material by publishing and performing songs containing her music and lyrics. She also asserted state-law claims for defamation, fraud, negligence, sexual harassment, stalking, negligent infliction of emotional distress, and harassment.
The named defendants were Sony Music Publishing (US) LLC; Alyssa Michelle Stephens, doing business as Mulatto; StreamCut Media, LLC; Belcalis Marlenis Almanzar Cephas, doing business as Cardi B.; and Black Entertainment Television, LLC, doing business as B.E.T. Awards. The opinion states that two defendants were located in New York County, New York, and three were located in Fayette County or Fulton County, Georgia. Johnson was a resident of College Park, Georgia, and alleged that the events giving rise to her claims occurred worldwide.
Venue and Transfer
The court explained that venue is the legally proper location for a case. It concluded that venue did not appear proper in the Southern District of New York under the usual rules based on where defendants reside or where substantial events occurred. The court also said it was unclear whether all defendants were subject to personal jurisdiction in New York for purposes of the copyright claims. However, if no other district was available under the usual rules, both the Southern District of New York and the Northern District of Georgia might qualify under the fallback venue provision.
The court then applied 28 U.S.C. § 1404(a), which allows a court to transfer a case to another district for the convenience of the parties and witnesses and in the interest of justice. The court considered the circumstances as a whole, including the locations of the parties and events, the potential convenience of witnesses, the location of evidence, the plaintiff’s choice of forum, trial efficiency, and the interests of justice.
The court noted that Johnson had previously filed a substantially similar civil action in the Northern District of Georgia arising from the same facts and involving many of the same defendants. The court therefore determined that the Northern District of Georgia was the favored forum under the rule generally favoring the court where a similar case was filed first.
Ruling
Chief Judge Laura Taylor Swain ordered the Clerk of Court to transfer the action to the United States District Court for the Northern District of Georgia. The order states that summonses would not issue from the Southern District of New York, that all pending matters would be decided by the receiving court, and that the case was closed in the Southern District of New York.
The court also certified that an appeal would not be taken in good faith and denied permission to proceed without paying filing fees for purposes of an appeal. The opinion did not decide whether Johnson’s copyright or state-law claims were legally valid.
Read the full 5-page opinion on CourtListener, the free public archive maintained by the Free Law Project.