Brainard v. Vassar

• Decision Date: 12 June 2008
• Docket Number: No. 3:07-0929.,3:07-0929.
• Citation: 561 F.Supp.2d 922
• Court: U.S. District Court — Middle District of Tennessee
• Parties: Dave BRAINARD, an individual, Justin Fagerhaug pka Dustin Evans, an individual, and Tim Matthews, an individual, Plaintiff, v. Phil VASSAR, an individual, Craig Wiseman, an individual, Phylvester Music, Inc., a Tennessee Corporation, Big Loud Shirt Industries, L.L.C., a Tennessee Limited Liability Company, Sony BMG Music Entertainment Inc., including its divisions RCA Label Group and Arista Nashville, a Delaware Corporation, and Procter & Gamble Company, an Ohio Corporation, Defendants.

561 F.Supp.2d 922

Dave BRAINARD, an individual, Justin Fagerhaug pka Dustin Evans, an individual, and Tim Matthews, an individual, Plaintiff, v. Phil VASSAR, an individual, Craig Wiseman, an individual, Phylvester Music, Inc., a Tennessee Corporation, Big Loud Shirt Industries, L.L.C., a Tennessee Limited Liability Company, Sony BMG Music Entertainment Inc., including its divisions RCA Label Group and Arista Nashville, a Delaware Corporation, and Procter & Gamble Company, an Ohio Corporation, Defendants.

No. 3:07-0929.

United States District Court, M.D. Tennessee, Nashville Division.

June 12, 2008.

COPYRIGHT MATERIAL OMITTED

COPYRIGHT MATERIAL OMITTED

David J. Moser, Nashville, TN, David C. Risner, Kingston Springs, TN, for Plaintiff.

Derek C. Crownover, Joel W. Tisinger, Crownover Tisinger P.C., Chris L. Vlahos, Timothy L. Warnock, Riley, Warnock & Jacobson, PLC, Sawnie Robertson Aldredge, Nashville, TN, for Defendants.

MEMORANDUM

ALETA A. TRAUGER, District Judge.

Defendants Phil Vassar, Craig Wiseman, Phylvester Music Inc., Big Loud Shirt Industries, LLC and BMG Music¹ have filed a Motion to Dismiss Counts 2, 4, 5, 6, 7 and 8 of the Plaintiffs' Complaint (Docket No. 24), to which the plaintiffs have responded (Docket No. 30), and the defendants have replied (Docket No. 32). For the reasons discussed herein, the defendants' Motion to Dismiss will be granted in part and denied in part.

FACTUAL BACKGROUND AND PROCEDURAL HISTORY

In October 2003, Plaintiffs Dave Brainard, Dustin Evans, and Tim Matthews collaborated on a musical composition titled "Good Ol' Days to Come."² The plaintiffs recorded a demo version of the song in January 2004, featuring Dustin Evans on the vocals. Several days later, on January 22, 2004, the plaintiffs' representatives began pitching "Good Ol' Days to Come" to various recording artists and representatives of recording artists. The plaintiffs sought a nationally prominent singer to record'"Good Ol' Days to Come" for commercial purposes.

On February 6, 2004, the demo of "Good Ol' Days to Come" was pitched to representatives of defendant Phil Vassar, a professional singer and songwriter. The plaintiffs allege that this pitch was made with the implied understanding, according to standard industry practice, that no use would be made of the song absent agreement of the plaintiffs, which would include compensation and song-writing credit. The plaintiffs allege that the demo was subsequently heard by Mr. Vassar himself, and/or Craig Wiseman, a professional songwriter, and that, later, representatives of defendant Sony BMG also listened to "Good Ol' Days to Come."

On February 11, 2004, representatives of Sony BMG told the plaintiffs' representatives that Mr. Vassar had decided not to record "Good Ol' Days to Come." Subsequently, in July, 2004, Mr. Evans recorded the song on an album also titled "Good Ol' Days to Come." A second authorized version of the plaintiffs' song, titled "Good Ol' Days," was recorded by an artist named Big Glenn Cummings on his debut album, titled "Big Glenn Cummings." A copyright of this version of the song was registered on March 24, 2005.

Sometime in late 2004, the plaintiffs learned that Mr. Vassar had recorded a song titled "Good Ole Days" as a part of his third album, "Shaken, Not Stirred," which was commercially released by Sony BMG on September 28, 2004. The "Good Ole Days" song was also released by Sony BMG as a "single" recording in June 2005. Since that time it has received widespread public performance in the form of radio air-play and through online music services such as iTunes, Yahoo Music, and AOL Music. "Good Ole Days" has also been synchronized as a part of a music video, which has itself received widespread public performance on television and through the online music services named above.

"Good Ole Days" has also been used by defendant Proctor & Gamble Company in its commercials for Prilosec OTC, a heartburn medication, and, according to the plaintiffs, in other forms of cross-promotional sponsorship involving Prilosec OTC. Mr. Vassar has publicly performed "Good Ole Days" in his live performances, including appearances on The Tonight Show and Fox Network's 2005 New Year's Eve coverage. Finally, "Good Ole Days" has been reproduced and distributed for sale in the form of a ring-tone for cellular phones. The plaintiffs allege that "Good Ole Days" is an unauthorized derivative work, based on "Good Ol' Days to Come," and that the substantial similarity between the two works includes portions of music and lyrics, overall theme, mood, pace, and total concept and feel.

On September 17, 2007, the plaintiffs filed this action, alleging: (1) copyright infringement, (2) common law misappropriation in violation of the plaintiffs' rights under the Copyright Act, 17 U.S.C. § 101 et seq., (3) breach of confidential relationship, (4) unfair competition in violation of the Lanham Act, 15 U.S.C. § 1125, (5) unfair competition in violation of Tennessee common law, (6) unjust enrichment, (7) constructive trust, and (8) accounting. (Docket No. 1) On December 7, 2007, defendants Phil Vassar, Craig Wiseman, Phylvester Music Inc., Big Loud Shirt Industries, LLC and BMG Music moved to dismiss counts 2, 4, 5, 6, 7 and 8 as preempted under the Copyright Act. (Docket No. 24).

ANALYSIS

I. Motion to Dismiss Standard

In deciding a motion to dismiss for failure to state a claim under Rule 12(b)(6), the court will accept as true the facts as the plaintiffs have pleaded them. Inge v. Rock Fin. Corp., 281 F.3d 613, 619 (6th Cir.2002); Performance Contracting, Inc. v. Seaboard Sur. Co., 163 F.3d 366, 369 (6th Cir.1998). The Federal Rules of Civil Procedure require only that a plaintiff provide "` a short and plain statement of the claim' that will give the defendant fair notice of what the plaintiffs claim is and the grounds upon which it rests." Conley v. Gibson, 355 U.S. 41, 47, 78 S.Ct. 99, 2 L.Ed.2d 80 (1957). The court must determine only whether "the claimant is entitled to offer evidence to support the claims," not whether the plaintiff can ultimately prove, the facts alleged. Swierkiewicz v. Sorema N.A., 534 U.S. 506, 511, 122 S.Ct. 992, 152 L.Ed.2d 1 (2002) (quoting Scheuer v. Rhodes, 416 U.S. 232, 236, 94 S.Ct. 1683, 40 L.Ed.2d 90 (1974)). "Indeed it may appear on the face of the pleadings that recovery is very remote and unlikely but that is not the test." Scheuer, 416 U.S. at 236, 94 S.Ct. 1683. Rather, challenges to the merits of a plaintiffs claim should be "dealt with through summary judgment under Rule 56." Swierkiewicz, 534 U.S. at 514, 122 S.Ct. 992.

In Bell Atlantic Corp. v. Twombly, ___ U.S. ___, 127 S.Ct. 1955, 1964-65, 167 L.Ed.2d 929 (2007), the Supreme Court readdressed the pleading requirements under the federal rules. The Court stressed that, although a complaint need not plead "detailed factual allegations," those allegations "must be enough to raise a right to relief above the speculative level." Id. at 1964-65. "The factual allegations, assumed to be true, must do more than create speculation or suspicion of a legally cognizable cause of action; they must show entitlement to relief." League of United Latin Am. Citizens v. Bredesen, 500 F.3d 523, 527 (6th Cir.2007) (citing Twombly, 127 S.Ct. at 1965). Further, the Court observed that Federal Rule of Civil Procedure 8(a)(2) does require a "showing" that the plaintiff is entitled to relief and that this substantive threshold is not achieved by conclusory assertions. Twombly, 127 S.Ct. at 1965 n. 3.

Although Federal Rule of Civil Procedure 8 establishes a "liberal system of notice pleading," see E.E.O.C. v. J.H. Routh Packing Co., 246 F.3d 850, 851 (6th Cir.2001), "a plaintiffs obligation to provide the `grounds' of his `entitle[ment] to relief requires more than labels and conclusions, and a formulaic recitation of the elements of a cause of action will not do." Twombly, 127 S.Ct. at 1964-65 (citing Papasan v. Attain, 478 U.S. 265, 286, 106 S.Ct. 2932, 92 L.Ed.2d 209 (1986)). Accordingly, to survive a motion to dismiss, "[f]actual allegations must be enough to raise a right to relief above the speculative level ... on the assumption that all the allegations in the complaint are true (even if doubtful in fact)." Id. at 1965; see also Swierkiewicz, 534 U.S. at 508 n. 1, 122 S.Ct. 992; Neitzke v. Williams, 490 U.S. 319, 327, 109 S.Ct. 1827, 104 L.Ed.2d 338 (1989) ("Rule 12(b) (6) does not countenance ... dismissals based on a judge's disbelief of a complaint's factual allegations"); Scheuer, 416 U.S. at 236, 94 S.Ct. 1683 (a well-pleaded complaint may proceed, even if it appears "that a recovery is very remote and unlikely"). With this standard in mind, the court turns to an analysis of the defendants' motion to dismiss.

II. Copyright Act Preemption

Section 301 of the Copyright Act broadly preempts state law claims, stating:

[A]ll legal or equitable rights that are equivalent to any of the exclusive rights within the general scope of copyright as specified in § 106 in works of authorship that ... come within the subject matter of copyright ... are governed exclusively by this title .... [N]o person is entitled to any such right or equivalent right in any such work under the common law or statutes of any State. 17 U.S.C. § 301(a). The Sixth Circuit has held that, "under § 301, a state common law or statutory claim is preempted if: (1) the work is within the scope of the `subject matter of copyright,' as specified in 17 U.S.C. §§ 102, 103; and, (2) the rights granted under state law are equivalent to any exclusive rights within the scope of federal copyright as set out in 17 U.S.C. § 106." Wrench LLC v. Toco Bell Corp., 256 F.3d 446, 453 (6th Cir.2001); see also ATC Distribution Group, Inc. v. Whatever It Takes Transmissions & Parts, Inc., 402 F.3d 700, 713 (6th Cir.2005). "These requirements are often referred to as the `subject matter requirement' and the `general scope' or `equivalency'...