Johnson v. Tuff N Rumble Mgmt ( 2002 )

IN THE UNITED STATES COURT OF APPEALS
FOR THE FIFTH CIRCUIT
________________
No. 01-30083
Summary Calendar
________________
JOSEPH JOHNSON; WARDELL QUEZERGUE,
Plaintiffs-Appellants
v.
TUFF N RUMBLE MANAGEMENT, INC., doing business as Tuff City Records; VYSHONN
MILLER, also known as Silkk the Shocker; NO LIMIT OF NEW ORLEANS, LLC, doing
business as No Limit Records; NO LIMIT PRODUCTIONS, LLC, doing business as No Limit
Records; BIG P MUSIC, LLC, doing business as Big P Music; BOUTIT, INC., doing business as
No Limit Records,
Defendants-Appellees.
__________________
Appeal from the United States District Court
for the Eastern District of Louisiana
99-CV-1374-R
__________________
September 18, 2002
Before REYNALDO G. GARZA, HIGGINBOTHAM, and STEWART, Circuit Judges.
REYNALDO G. GARZA, Circuit Judge:1
Appellants Joseph Johnson and Wardell Quezergue authored the song It Ain’t My Fault,
1
Pursuant to 5th Cir. R. 47.5, the Court has determined that this opinion should not be
published and is not precedent except under the limited circumstances set forth in 5th Cir. R.
47.5.4.
which Quezergue registered with the United States Copyright Office in 1964. Tuff-n-Rumble
Management, Inc., d/b/a Tuff City Records, invests in “forgotten songs” for use in films, third-
party compilations, derivative works, and digital samples. Tuff City’s President, Aaron Fuchs,
approached Johnson at the 1997 New Orleans Jazz and Heritage Festival and inquired about
purchasing song rights. Tuff City subsequently sent Johnson a contract for the assignment of
50% of his copyrights along with an initial check for $100. The check stated that it was for the
“assignment of Johnson’s copyrights to Tuff City agreement dated June 17, 1997.” Though
Johnson never signed the contract, he did endorse the check and donate it to his church, which
subsequently deposited the check after it had cleared Tuff City’s account.
Quezergue entered into a similar agreement with Tuff City, under which Quezergue
agreed to assign to Tuff City a 50% interest in the copyrights of all his compositions written
between 1952 and 1955. The agreement expressly included It Ain’t My Fault. In return for the
assignment, Tuff City agreed to pay Quezergue $2,000, as well as a share of the income generated
from the copyrights. On February 2, 1999, Tuff City recorded the assignment from Quezergue of
It Ain’t My Fault with the United States Copyright Office.
Appellants brought this copyright infringement action against Tuff City and Joe Jones,
whom the district court later found to have infringed on Appellants’ copyright. Appellants then
amended the complaint to include as defendants Boutit, Inc., No Limit of New Orleans, LLC
d/b/a No Limit Records, Big P Music, and Vyshonn Miller p/k/a Silkk the Shocker (collectively
“No Limit”), alleging that these newly added defendants had used the melody of It Ain’t My Fault
in various musical works. Tuff City brought cross-claims for copyright infringement against No
Limit.
2
Tuff City moved for summary judgment, asserting that Johnson and Quezergue each, on
separate occasions, transferred 50% of their respective copyright interests in It Ain’t My Fault to
Tuff City. Johnson and Quezergue also moved for summary judgment, claiming that neither of
them transferred ownership of their copyright interests to Tuff City. After the district court
granted Tuff City’s motion for summary judgment in an August 14, 2000 order, Johnson and
Quezergue moved for reconsideration. Appellants, for the first time, argued that Johnson’s
contract with Tuff City was valid but required rescission. The court ruled that this claim was
improperly brought and substantively meritless.
Once the motion for reconsideration was denied, Tuff City and No Limit reached a
settlement on Tuff City’s cross claim. Because Tuff City was deemed a co-owner of the
copyright-in-suit following the August 14, 2000 order, Tuff City took advantage of its authority
to grant No Limit a non-exclusive license. This grant worked to Dismiss Appellants’ claim of
infringement against No Limit.
After the case was dismissed against No Limit, Appellants filed a second motion for
reconsideration. Appellants raised four grounds: (1) a co-owner of a copyright may not issue a
license to create a derivative work; (2) the moral rights laws of foreign jurisdictions required that
Johnson and Quezergue issue the license; (3) the license and settlement between No Limit and
Tuff City was invalid until Johnson and Quezergue received an accounting from Tuff City; and (4)
Tuff City could not issue a license because it did not sue one of the various No Limit companies.
Again, each of these arguments was raised for the first time on reconsideration. On December 11,
2000, the district court issued an order finding that each of these arguments was improperly
brought and devoid of merit.
3
Appellants’ Notice of Appeal, dated January 5, 2001, referred only to the district court’s
denial of Appellants’ Motion for Reconsideration of the Order of Dismissal and/or Amendment of
Judgment pursuant to Rule 59. The sole focus of Appellants’ appeal, however, is the August 14,
2000 Order. After filing a motion for reconsideration of the August order, which was denied on
October 3, 2000, Appellants did not further challenge it.
Initially, this court must determine whether Appellants’ appeal is jurisdictionally defective
under Federal Rule of Appellate Procedure 3(C). Under Rule 3(C), a notice of appeal “shall
specify the party or parties taking the appeal” and “shall designate the judgment, order or part
thereof appealed from.” Fed. R. App. P. 3(C). This court construes Rule 3© liberally, and when
the intent to appeal a mislabeled ruling is apparent and the adverse party is not prejudiced, an
appeal is not jurisdictionally defective. See Turnbull v. United States, 929 F.2d 173, 176-77 (5th
Cir. 1991). “Failure to properly designate the order appealed from is not a jurisdictional defect,
and may be cured by an indication of intent in the briefs or otherwise.” United States v.
Rochester, 898 F.2d 971, 976 n.1 (5th Cir. 1990) (citing Torres v. Oakland Scavenger, 487 U.S.
312 (1998). Appellants’ brief adequately designated the issue being appealed, namely the validity
of Johnson’s copyright transfer to Tuff City.
Appellants do not dispute the validity of Quezergue’s transfer of copyright interest in It
Ain’t My Fault to Tuff City; in fact, Appellants conveniently fail to address the effect of
Quezergue’s transfer on Johnson’s argument. The transfer from Quezergue, the validity of which
Appellants do not contest, makes Tuff City a co-owner of the copyright and, as such, Tuff City
may not be sued for copyright infringement. See Quintanilla v. Texas Television, Inc., 139 F.3d
494, 500 (5th Cir. 1998).
4
Appellants contend that the district court erred in finding that, as a matter of law, Johnson
transferred a 25% interest in It Ain’t My Fault to Tuff City. The district court noted, however,
that even if “this result does not follow,” the transfer of Quezergue’s interest in It Ain’t My Fault
to Tuff City “independently necessitat[es] the dismissal of his claim.” R. 606.
Johnson does not now dispute that Tuff City has at least a 25% interest in It Ain’t My
Fault arising from the transfer of Quezergue’s interest. As such, it is of no consequence whether
Tuff City has a 25% interest or a 50% interest; as a co-owner of the copyright, it is immune from
suit for infringement. See Quintanilla, 139 F.3d at 498. This appeal is moot and will not be
further entertained.
AFFIRMED.
5