Stone v. Williams

• Decision Date: 21 April 1989
• Docket Number: D,No. 732,732
• Citation: 873 F.2d 620
• Parties: 1989 Copr.L.Dec. P 26,419, 10 U.S.P.Q.2d 1624 Cathy Yvonne STONE, an Individual, Plaintiff-Appellant, v. Hank WILLIAMS, Jr., Billie Jean Williams Berlin, Chappell Music Company, a Division of Chappell & Co., Inc., a Delaware Corporation, Aberbach Enterprises, Ltd., a New York Corporation, Acuff-Rose Opryland Music, Inc., a Tennessee Corporation, Milene-Opryland Music, Inc., a Tennessee Corporation, Wesley H. Rose and Roy Acuff, Individually and as Trustees in Liquidation for Stockholders of Fred Rose Music, Inc., and Milene Music, Inc., Fred Rose Music, Inc., a Tennessee Corporation, and Milene Music, Inc., a Tennessee Corporation, Defendants-Appellees. ocket 88-7860.
• Court: U.S. Court of Appeals — Second Circuit

Page 620

873 F.2d 620

1989 Copr.L.Dec. P 26,419, 10 U.S.P.Q.2d 1624

Cathy Yvonne STONE, an Individual, Plaintiff-Appellant, v. Hank WILLIAMS, Jr., Billie Jean Williams Berlin, Chappell Music Company, a Division of Chappell & Co., Inc., a Delaware Corporation, Aberbach Enterprises, Ltd., a New York Corporation, Acuff-Rose Opryland Music, Inc., a Tennessee Corporation, Milene-Opryland Music, Inc., a Tennessee Corporation, Wesley H. Rose and Roy Acuff, Individually and as Trustees in Liquidation for Stockholders of Fred Rose Music, Inc., and Milene Music, Inc., Fred Rose Music, Inc. a Tennessee Corporation, and Milene Music, Inc., a Tennessee Corporation, Defendants-Appellees.

No. 732, Docket 88-7860.

United States Court of Appeals Second Circuit.

Argued Feb. 1, 1989.

Decided April 21, 1989.

Milton A. Rudin, Beverly Hills, Cal. (Joseph L. Golden, Susan H. Green, Rudin & Appel, Beverly Hills, Cal.; Marjorie M. Smith, Coblence Warner Hamilton & Smith, New York City, of counsel), for plaintiff-appellant.

Alan L. Shulman, New York City (Robert J. Warner, Jr., Richard H. Frank, Jr., W. Michael Milom, Christian A. Horsnell, Silverman, Shulman & Slotnick, New York City, for defendants-appellees Hank Williams, Jr., Wesley H. Rose, Roy Acuff, Fred Rose Music, Inc. and Milene Music, Inc.; Lawrence I. Fox, Stephen K. Rush, Katherine M. Allen, Berger & Steingut, New York City, for defendants-appellees Acuff-Rose Opryland Music, Inc. and Milene-Opryland Music, Inc.; Thomas R. Levy, New York City, for defendants-appellees Billie Jean Williams Berlin, Chappell Music Co. and Aberbach Enterprises, Ltd., of counsel), for defendants-appellees.

Before VAN GRAAFEILAND, CARDAMONE and PIERCE, Circuit Judges.

CARDAMONE, Circuit Judge:

Cathy Yvonne Stone brought this action in the United States District Court for the Southern District of New York (Keenan, J.) for her purported share of copyright renewal rights to songs composed by Hank Williams, Sr., her natural father. The defendants in this action are Hank Williams, Jr., the son of Hank Williams and stepson of Billie Jean Williams Berlin, who was married to Hank Williams at the time of his death, and a number of music companies or individuals that have obtained an interest in the copyright proceeds of the Williams' songs including: Aberbach Enterprises; Chappell Music Company; Acuff-Rose Opryland, Inc.; Milene-Opryland Music, Inc.; Fred Rose Music, Inc.; Milene Music, Inc.; Roy Acuff; and Wesley H. Rose. The sole issue presented is whether the district court abused its discretion when it granted defendants' motion for summary judgment and dismissed appellant's complaint on the grounds of laches. Even granting to Ms. Stone's situation the fullest stretch of sympathy, her own delay and procrastination in the end bars her suit. The district court's judgment, therefore, is affirmed.

I FACTUAL BACKGROUND

The dispute arises over copyright renewal proceeds for 60 published and copyrighted songs written or performed by country and western singer Hank Williams (Williams, Sr.) who died intestate on January 1, 1953 at the age of 29. During his lifetime the well-known singer and composer wrote such popular hits as "Your Cheatin' Heart" and "Hey Good Lookin' ". We set forth the facts briefly in chronological order.

Appellant Stone was born on January 6, 1953 in Alabama, five days after Williams, Sr. died. While Ms. Stone's biological mother, Bobbie Jett, was pregnant with her in October of 1952, she and Williams, Sr. executed an agreement under which he acknowledged that he might be the father of appellant, but specifically did not admit paternity. The agreement further provided that Williams, Sr. pay Bobbie Jett for Ms. Stone's support, and placed the infant's custody until age 2 in Lillian Williams Stone, mother of Williams, Sr., who was present at the drafting and the execution of the agreement together with the two principals. Pursuant to its terms, Lillian Stone adopted plaintiff, and Bobbie Jett left for California. Until her death in 1955 Mrs. Stone cared for appellant. At that point, Williams, Sr.'s sister, Irene Smith, reneged on her promise to care for Cathy Stone if anything happened to Lillian Stone. As a result, appellant became a ward of the State of Alabama, and at age three in 1956 a foster child of the Deupree family. The Deuprees adopted her in 1959.

Williams, Sr. had a son, Hank Williams, Jr. The assignment of Hank Williams, Jr.'s copyright interests in his father's music generated litigation in 1967 and 1968 in the Circuit Court of Montgomery County, Alabama. That court appointed a guardian ad litem, attorney Drayton Hamilton, to ascertain any unknown potential heirs to the Williams' estate and to represent their interests. After investigating, Hamilton concluded that the only such person was appellant Stone. Unbeknownst to Ms. Stone, her adoptive family, the Deuprees, had asked Hamilton to leave her out of the 1967 proceedings, because they thought it unlikely that she would win and were worried that their then 14-year-old daughter would be subjected to embarrassing publicity because of her status as the illegitimate child of a famous country western singer. Nonetheless, Hamilton zealously litigated Ms. Stone's interests, but to no avail. The Alabama court determined that Hank Williams, Jr. was the sole heir of his father, and further held that appellant, as a natural child who had been adopted by another family, had no rights in any proceeds from the Williams, Sr.'s songs or their renewal rights. In reaching this conclusion, it relied on De Sylva v. Ballentine, 351 U.S. 570, 76 S.Ct. 974, 100 L.Ed. 1415 (1956) (holding that courts must look to state law to determine child's legal status for inheritance before evaluating the child's renewal rights under the Copyright Act).

After the disruptive first few years of her life, Ms. Stone appears to have enjoyed an ordinary childhood, and developed a closely bonded relationship with the Deuprees, with no knowledge of her natural parents. Then, in late 1973, shortly before appellant's 21st birthday, Mrs. Deupree told her of the rumors regarding the identity of her natural father, but added that everything had been decided against her. This disclosure was necessary because, upon turning age 21, Ms. Stone was entitled to a small inheritance from Williams, Sr.'s mother, Lillian Stone. The Deuprees were concerned that appellant might encounter reporters while claiming the inheritance and wanted to arm her with knowledge. After picking up the inheritance check (about $3,800) at the Mobile County Courthouse, Ms. Stone went to a library and read a biography on Williams, Sr., entitled Sing a Sad Song, written by Roger Williams. This book mentioned the possibility that Williams, Sr. had fathered an illegitimate daughter, and the author speculated on the child's entitlement to a renewal interest in his songs. Ms. Stone surmised that she might be that daughter.

In the following years, appellant asked the Deuprees about her background and talked to some attorney acquaintances, but did little else to ascertain her connection to Williams. She recalls that the Deuprees told her that there was nothing more to do. In 1979, she met with personnel from the state agency responsible for adoptions--the Alabama Department of Pensions and Securities--but states that she no longer remembers the substance of the conversation. The record, including appellant's deposition, suggests that her feelings about Williams' parentage were ambivalent.

Her attitude crystallized in 1980 when she received a telephone call from her adoptive father, George Deupree. Evidently alluding to his decision not to pursue Ms. Stone's rights in the 1967-68 lawsuits, Deupree told her that he had undergone a change of heart after seeing Hank Williams, Jr. on a television show. Deupree has since died, but appellant related the conversation in her deposition: "I want to ask you if you would like to find out if Hank Williams is your father. He said think about it. And he said I will help you in any way that I can. And he said I think I was wrong in withholding information from you and not discussing it. And I will do everything I can to help you."

Following this call, Ms. Stone stepped up her efforts to learn about her relationship to Williams, Sr. She looked up newspaper articles about him, and sought out his relatives and those of her natural mother, Bobbie Jett, who had also since died. She met with attorney Hamilton, her former guardian ad litem, and discussed with him the 1952 custody and support agreement between Bobbie Jett and Williams, Sr., and obtained the records from the 1967 and 1968 Circuit Court proceedings. But Ms. Stone did not examine those documents until after she met attorney Keith Adkinson (who later became her husband) in 1984.

Appellant filed the original declaratory judgment complaint in this action on September 12, 1985 which, as amended to include all of the above-named defendants, contains two claims. The first claim against all the defendants arises under the Copyright Acts of 1909 and 1976 and seeks a number of declarations, including that Ms. Stone is the natural daughter of Williams, Sr., and as such is entitled to a proportionate share of the renewal rights from his songs. The second claim alleges that certain of the defendants committed a conspiracy to defraud her.

In addition to this federal action, Hank Williams, Jr. and Ms. Stone sued each other in Alabama state court in 1985, each seeking a declaratory judgment on appellant's status vis-a-vis Hank Williams, Sr. That court held that even though Ms. Stone was the natural child of Williams, Sr., she was not his heir under Alabama law. Thus, it gave preclusive effect to the prior 1967 and 1968 Alabama Circuit Court state ruling.

Appellant and defendants moved for summary judgment in the instant action on a number of grounds including statute of limitations and res judicata. The...