Bridgeport Music, Inc. v. 11C Music

202 F.R.D. 229 (M.D. Tenn., Nashville Division 2001)

What's Going On?

[Motions by Defendants for severance and dismissal of Plaintiffs' copyright infringement claims against over 770 entities, on grounds of improper joinder under FRCP 20 and failure to give a “short and plain statement” of Plaintiffs' claims.]

Who's Who?

Plaintiffs     :

Bridgeport Music, Inc., et al – entities engaged in publishing, recording, and distributing music.

Defendants :

11 C Music, et al – over 770 music and entertainment companies.

Facts:

Plaintiffs—publishers, recorders, and distributors of music—brought a copyright infringement action against Defendants, over 770 music and entertainment companies. Plaintiffs allege that Defendants sampled music owned by Plaintiffs. Plaintiffs' complaint includes 486 counts, most of which contain multiple claims. Defendants move to dismiss Plaintiffs' complaint, arguing that Plaintiffs' complaint, which is 901 pages long, violates FRCP 8 by not giving a “short and plain statement of its claims, and FRCP 20 because Defendants are not properly joined.

Issue:

May parties whose alleged wrongs arise from unrelated occurrences be joined as defendants in a lawsuit?

Decision:

No. FRCP 20 provides for the permissive joinder of multiple parties in one action as defendants in order to promote judicial economy and trial convenience; however, two tests, the common question test and the transactional test, must be met before parties may be joined. The common question test is often easily satisfied. The transactional test, however, requires that, to be joined, parties must assert rights, or have rights asserted against them, that arise from related activities. This test generally requires a case by case analysis. In this case, although certain Defendants were involved in multiple instances of copyright infringement, each alleged act of sampling represents a discrete occurrence. Even if joinder were permissible in this case, the court would allow severance to avoid unreasonable prejudice to Defendants, and to avoid inconvenience to the court. The case is unmanageable in its current form. Defendants would be faced with an onslaught of material irrelevant to their role in the case, and the court is not even large enough to accommodate all of the parties involved. The copyright infringement counts should proceed separately as 477 individual cases. Defendants' FRCP 8 motions are moot due to the court's determination. [Motions for severance granted and motions to dismiss denied.]

Basic Rule:

Parties to be joined must assert rights, or have rights asserted against them, that arise from related activities.

Terms:

Joinder :

The uniting of several parties or causes of action in a single suit.

Moot :

Without significance.

Sample :

To copy portions of prior musical recordings directly onto new musical recordings.

Severance :

The court-ordered separation of multiple parties' claims.

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