Cambridge University Press, et al v. J. Albert, et al
Filing
1
CIVIL APPEAL DOCKETED. Notice of appeal filed by Appellants Cambridge University Press, Oxford University Press, Inc. and Sage Publications, Inc. on 10/02/2012. Fee Status: Fee Paid.
WCHAMtfcno
t
U.M \ r
IN THE UNITED STATES DISTRICT COURT
FOR THE NORTHERN DISTRICT OF GEORGIA
ATLANTA DIVISION
CAMBRIDGE UNIVERSITY PRESS;
OXFORD UNIVERSITY PRESS, INC.;
SAGE PUBLICATIONS, INC.,
Mmte
SEP 3 0 2012
m, Clerk
TfWGBfr'-
Plaintiffs,
CIVIL ACTION NO.
1:08-CV-1425-ODE
MARK P. BECKER, in his official
capacity as President of
Georgia State University; RISA
PALM, in her official capacity
as Senior Vice President for
Academic Affairs and Provost of
Georgia State University; J.L.
ALBERT,
in his official
capacity as Georgia State
University Associate Provost
for Information Systems and
Technology; NANCY SEAMANS, in
her official capacity as Dean
of Libraries at Georgia State
University; ROBERT F. HATCHER,
in his official capacity as
Vice Chair of the Board of
Regents of the University
System of Georgia; KENNETH R.
BERNARD,
JR., LARRY R. ELLIS,
W. MANSFIELD JENNINGS, JR. ,
JAMES R. JOLLY, DONALD M.
LEEBERN, JR., WILLIAM NESMITH,
JR., DOREEN STILES POITEVINT,
WILLIS J. POTTS, JR., C. DEAN
ALFORD, KESSEL STELLING, JR.,
BENJAMIN J. TARBUTTON, III,
RICHARD L. TUCKER, LARRY
WALKER, RUTLEDGE A. GRIFFIN,
JR., C. THOMAS HOPKINS, JR.,
NEIL L. PRUITT, JR.,
A.
WILHEIT,
SR.,
and PHILIP
in their
official capacities as members
of the Board of Regents of the
University System of Georgia,
Defendants.
•f;c (..lino,, .',._«,.:
Case l:08-cv-0i .5-ODE Document 462 Filed 09/3l i
Page 2 of 12
ORDER
This copyright infringement case is currently before the Court
on Defendants' Motion for Leave to Supplement the Detailed Request
for
Attorneys'
Fees
and
determination of attorneys'
August
10,
2012
Order,
Other
Costs
[Doc.
455]
and
for
a
fees and costs following this Court's
which
found
Defendants
are
entitled
to
reasonable attorneys' fees and costs [Doc. 441] . On August 24, 2012,
Defendants filed their Memorandum in Support of Defendants' Detailed
Request for an Award of Attorneys' Fees and Other Costs [Doc. 444] .
Defendants subsequently filed three supplemental
statements
[Doc.
446; Doc. 448; Doc. 453] . Plaintiffs filed objections to Defendants'
request on September 10, 2012 [Doc. 451] . As of September 11, 2012,
Defendants
request
a total of $3,039,240.10
-- $2,953,493.71
attorneys' fees and $85,746.39 in costs [Doc. 453 at 3] .*
held a hearing on
this matter
on September
14,
2012.
in
The Court
At
this
hearing, Defendants moved to submit a supplemental filing, to which
Plaintiffs objected.
The Court delayed ruling on this matter, and
instructed Defendants to file a motion.
On September 17, Defendants
filed their Motion for Leave to Supplement the Detailed Request for
xIn Defendants' third supplemental filing [Doc. 453], Defendants
agreed with one of Plaintiffs'
objections
[Doc.
451 at 10]
and
withdrew their request for attorneys' fees in the amount of
$16,577.25 [Doc. 453 at 2]. This amount represented additional time
entries related to Defendants' sovereign immunity defense fld.1 .
Because both parties agree this amount should be withdrawn, the Court
grants Defendants' request, and recognizes that Defendants now
request $2,953,493.71 in attorneys' fees and $85,746.39 in costs [Id.
at 3] .
Case l:08-cv-0i .5-ODE Document 462 Filed 09/3v. .1 Page 3 of 12
Attorneys'
Fees
and Other Costs
[Doc.
455] .
Plaintiffs
filed a
response on September 27, 2012 [Doc. 458], opposing the motion.
The Court,
Leave
to
Other
Costs
as set
forth below,
GRANTS Defendants'
Supplement the Detailed Request
[Doc.
455],
and
AWARDS
Motion for
for Attorneys'
Defendants
Fees
$2,861,348.71
and
in
attorneys' fees and $85,746.39 in costs.
I.
Defendants'
Motion for Leave to Supplement
Despite Plaintiffs'
objections
[Doc. 458],
the
Court grants
Defendants' Motion for Leave to Supplement the Detailed Request for
Attorneys'
Fees and Other Costs
[Doc. 455] .
Defendants seek to file an invoice for the
from August 4, 2008
through March 31, 2009
Through this motion,
fees and costs incurred
[Doc. 455-3].
Unlike
prior exhibits for the same time frame, this invoice shows the number
of hours billed for each billing entry [Doc. 455 at 2; e.g. . Doc.
455-3 at 2] , not just the descriptions of the work, the dollar amount
billed
for
Defendants
the
work
and
the
identity
inadvertently omitted this
of
the
exhibit
billing
attorney.
from prior filings
[Doc. 455 at 3].
Plaintiffs complain that Defendants have already supplemented
their filings three prior times.
emphasis
on the number
contents.
favor,
However,
of supplements,
Plaintiffs put too much
and not
enough on
their
Two of these prior filings were actually in Plaintiffs'
in that Defendants withdrew their request for certain fees
[Doc. 448;
Doc.
453].
The Court is not persuaded that Defendants'
motion to supplement should be denied just because this will be the
fourth supplemental filing.
Likewise, the Court is not persuaded by
-3-
Case l:08-cv-o( i-ODE Document 462 Filed 09/3v 2 Page 4of 12
Plaintiffs'
various
other arguments
that
granting
the motion to
supplement would be unfair in relation to prior rulings disallowing
parts
of
Plaintiffs'
Accordingly,
the
arguments
Court
grants
in
certain
Defendants'
motions
Motion
in
for
limine.
Leave
to
Supplement the Detailed Request for Attorneys' Fees and Other Costs
[Doc.
II.
455] .
Defendants' Award of Attorneys' Fees and Other Costs
The Court proceeds with awarding attorneys' fees and other costs
to Defendants, even though a notice of appeal has been filed in this
case.2
See Advisory Committee Notes to the 1993 Amendment to Fed. R.
Civ. P. 54(d)(2)
("If an appeal on the merits of the case is taken,
the court may rule on the claim for fees, may defer its ruling on the
motion, or may deny the motion without prejudice . . . .") (emphasis
added).
Because the details in this voluminous case are still fresh,
it is appropriate to deny Plaintiffs' request for a delayed ruling on
this matter [Doc. 451].
1601,
2011
WL
9798,
Anheuser-Busch. Inc. v. Schnorf, No. 10-CV-
at *2
adjudication of attorneys'
(N.D.
111.
Jan.
3,
2011)
fees motions is preferable,
(w[P]rompt
while
the
district court is still familiar with 'the merits of the parties'
positions,
the reasonableness of the attorneys'
time sheets,
the
competence of the attorneys, etc.'" (quoting Terket v. Lund. 623 F.2d
2The Court did not intend its Order of August 10, 2012 [Doc. 441]
to be a final order. Regardless, it is appropriate to adjudicate the
request for an award of attorneys'
fees at this time.
Case l:08-cv-0l ,5-ODE Document 462 Filed 09/3l .z Page 5 of 12
29,
34
(7th Cir.
1980))).
Accordingly,
the
Court will
address
Plaintiffs' objections [Doc. 451]3 to Defendants' request [Doc. 444] .
A.
Pre-February 17, 2009 Work
This lawsuit was filed on April 15, 2008.
Plaintiffs object to
awarding Defendants the fees and costs incurred between that date
and the effective date of the Defendants' new copyright policy, which
was effective February 17, 2 009. Plaintiffs state that "Defendants
clearly are not prevailing parties in relation to a policy they
scrapped during the litigation. The trial concerned the legality of
the 2009 policy and the practices pursuant to that policy . . . ."
[Doc. 451 at 6] .
Plaintiffs seek a reduction in Defendants' request
of 82.9% which is the percentage of the request covering the period
up through February 17,
2009, in relation to the entire request.
Thus Plaintiffs argue Defendants should get 17.1% of their requested
amount.
Plaintiffs
Defendants'
assert
that
this
methodology
would
reduce
fee award by $333,519.09.
As previously held,
this litigation.
does believe,
Defendants are the prevailing parties in
Only one side can be a prevailing party.
however,
The Court
that it is appropriate to consider whether
some of the work done by defense counsel did not assist in bringing
about the favorable outcome.
In the Court' s view that would include
the work done on formulating the new policy. This would not exclude
all work done before February 17,
2009,
however,
because counsel
3Plaintiffs do not argue that defense counsel's hourly rates or
hours expended are unreasonable. Henslev v. Eckerhart. 461 U.S. 424,
433 (1993) ("The most useful starting point for determining the
amount of a reasonable fee is the number of hours reasonably expended
on the litigation multiplied by a reasonable hourly rate.").
Case l:08-cv-0i o-ODE Document 462 Filed 09/3u 1 Page 6of 12
performed considerable work before then which was pertinent to the
eventual
outcome.
After reviewing Defendants'
the
Court
concludes
that
supplemental filing [Doc. 455-3],
Defendants'
fees
should be
reduced by
$62,145 for time spent formulating the 2009 copyright policy.
Also,
the Court estimates that some small amount of time was for work which
had no value once the claims under the old policy dropped out of the
case.
Most of the hours worked had carry-over value,
for example,
filing the answer to the complaint, preparation of the discovery plan
(the preliminary report and scheduling order), and the first round of
paper discovery.
which did not
The Court estimates the dollar value of the time
carry forward at
$30,000.
Hence,
Defendants'
fee
request of $2,953,493.71 is reduced by $92,145.
B.
Fees and Costs Associated with Dr.
Plaintiffs object to Defendants'
Crews
request for fees incurred by
defense counsel's work with and use of Dr. Kenneth Crews, an expert
witness called by Defendants at trial.
Plaintiffs argue Defendants'
award should be reduced by a total of $194,944.94 -- $142,03 8.54 for
Dr. Crews' fees and $52,906.40 for related attorneys' fees and costs
[Doc.
451
at
8-9] .
For
the
reasons
set
forth below,
the
Court
overrules Plaintiffs' objections.
Section 505 of the Copyright Act provides:
In any civil action under this title, the court in its
discretion may allow the recovery of full costs by or
against any party other than the United States or an
officer thereof.
Except as otherwise provided by this
title, the court may also award a reasonable attorney's fee
to the prevailing party as part of the costs.
17 U.S.C. § 505 (emphasis added).
•6-
Ci
Case 1:08-cv-0!l .5-ODE Document 462 Filed 09/3\. 1 Page 7 of 12
Courts have held that an award under 17 U.S.C.
"litigation
costs,"
such
as
"reasonable
§ 505 includes
out-of-pocket
expenses
incurred by the attorney and which are normally charged to fee-paying
clients, so long as these costs are incidental and necessary to the
litigation." Lil' Joe Wein Music. Inc. v. Jackson. No. 06-20079-CIV,
2008 WL 2688117, at *14
see
also
Arthur
(S.D. Fla. July 1, 2008)
Kaplan
96CIV.7973(HB) , 1999
WL
Co.
253646,
v.
Panaria
at
*2
(emphasis added);
Int'l.
(S.D.N.Y.
Apr.
Inc..
29,
No.
1999)
(" [W] hen a court makes an award of attorney's fees, it can also award
the prevailing party 'reasonable out-of-pocket expenses incurred by
the attorney and which are normally charged fee-paying clients,' so
long
as
these
litigation.'"
costs
are
'incidental
(quoting Reichman v.
and
necessary
Bonsignore,
P.C.. 818 F.2d 278, 283 (2d Cir. 1987))).
to
the
Brignati & Mazzota
In other words, the award
of attorneys' fees can include necessary, out-of-pocket costs, which
are incidental to the litigation.
Inc..
See generally Lil' Joe Wein Music.
2008 WL 2688117.
The Court finds all costs associated with Dr. Crews, including
defense
counsel's
related
fees
and
costs,
were
incidental
and
necessary to the litigation, and thus can be included as part of the
award of attorneys'
fees.
issue in this case"
[Doc.
"The fair use doctrine
[wa] s ... at
121 at 2; see also id. at 3],
and Dr.
Crews, through his report and testimony, dealt with this issue and
also provided "a review of the history and development of university
electronic reserves systems and a discussion of copyright policies at
other universities"
rid, at 4].
Thus, as the Court has previously
Case l:08-cv-01 5-ODE Document 462 Filed 09/3^ 1 Page 8of 12
stated,
Dr.
infringement
Plaintiffs'
Crews'
case
testimony
fsee,
motion to
was
e.g..
id.
exclude the
helpful
(noting,
expert
in
in
this
copyright
an Order
denying
testimony of Dr.
Crews,
"[t]his information will be helpful to the Court in understanding the
evidence presented, determining the facts,
and crafting relief,
if
Order
denying
Plaintiffs' motion to exclude the testimony of Dr. Crews,
"[t]hese
appropriate");
Doc.
234
at
6
(stating,
in
an
qualifications are more than sufficient to establish that Dr. Crews
has useful knowledge and experience that will assist the Court in
evaluating the issues in this case"); see also Doc. 423 at 42, 109
(citing Dr. Crews' testimony)].
It
Crews'
is
fair to say that the Court did not accept
testimony.
For example,
the part of Dr.
all of Dr.
Crews'
"Fair Use
Checklist" which calls for professors to estimate the effect of use
of a copyrighted excerpt on the potential market value of a work is
unworkable.
Also, correct outcomes using the checklist are certainly
not a lead pipe cinch.
Nonetheless, his testimony was helpful and
defense counsel's work with Dr. Crews was also clearly necessary, as
consulting with an expert witness and preparing him for trial and/or
depositions are naturally part of litigation.
doubt that the fees defense counsel
Lastly,
there is no
incurred by working with Dr.
Crews were out-of-pocket expenses, generally charged to the client -defense
counsel
Defendants
even
[e.g. . Doc.
included
444-1 at
these
costs
63-71,
in
81-92] .
an
invoice
See Lil'
sent
to
Joe Wein
Music. Inc. . 2008 WL 2688117, at *14 (holding the award of attorneys'
fees to include litigation expenses, while noting "[d]efendants have
Case l:08-cv-0i. -o-ODE Document 462 Filed 09/3^ i
Page 9 of 12
included these expenses in their bills to clients").
content
of
Dr.
Crews'
testimony,
his
costs
and
Because of the
the
associated
attorneys' fees were not only necessary, but incidental to the trial,
and thus are included as part of the Defendants' award of attorneys'
fees.
Plaintiffs argue that the United States Court of Appeals for the
Eleventh Circuit's ruling in Artisan Contractors Ass'n of America.
Inc. v.
fees.
Frontier Insurance Co..
275 F.3d 1038
(11th Cir.
misconstrued this case.
dictates a denial of such costs and
2001).
In Artisan,
However,
Plaintiffs have
the Court of Appeals
held:
"costs that may be assessed to reimburse a prevailing party for its
expert witness fees are limited to the $40 limit provided for in 28
U.S.C.
§
1821."
IcL
at
1040.
However,
attorneys' fees involved in Artisan.
was
discussing
an
award under
28
there was
no
award of
Instead, the Court of Appeals
U.S.C.
§
1821.
Section
1821
concerns travel expenses, subsistence allowances, attendance fees,
and the like.
At issue in this case, are the costs associated with
an expert witness preparing a report and preparing for depositions
and trial, and attorneys' fees that naturally flow from the use of an
expert witness.
The costs at issue here thus are different
from
those discussed in Artisan. Because the costs and fees Defendants
seek are necessary and incidental, and are part of the "full costs"
of the case, the Court finds they are compensable, as part of the
award of attorneys' fees.
for
a
reduction
of
Thus, the Court denies Plaintiffs' request
the costs
and
fees
associated with
counsel's use of Dr. Crews as an expert witness.
•9-
defense
Case l:08-cv-01
j-ODE Document 462 Filed 09/3C. .' Page 10 of 12
Order Coicpliance Fees
C.
Plaintiffs also object to three time entries totaling $2,317.50
[Doc.
451
September
at
9] .
5,
2012
These
[Doc.
entries,
451-4],
included
in
the
correspond to
invoice
defense
dated
counsel's
consultation with Defendants on how to comply with this Court's prior
Order.
Specifically, in their invoice, defense counsel describes the
activities at issue as:
" [r]eview decision and consider outline of
injunction to be adopted by [Georgia State University]";
"[r]eview
orders and consider notices to faculty and administrators to comply";
and
"[r] eview
court
orders
regarding
notices
to
faculty
and
administrators; conference call with Ms.
Heyward and Ms.
Spratt"
[Doc.
this
is
not
Defendants'
fee
451-4] .
compensable
Plaintiffs
because
it
argue
"do[es]
application" [Doc. 451 at 9].
that
not
relate
$2,317.50
to
The Court disagrees with Plaintiffs.
The Court finds that instructing clients on how to comply with a
court ordered injunction is a necessary activity,
litigation.
incidental to
Finding otherwise, and thus discouraging such efforts,
would defeat the purpose of issuing such an order.
overrules Plaintiffs'
objection,
and will
not
The Court
reduce Defendants'
award by $2,317.50 as requested by Plaintiffs.
Ill.
Conclusion
For the reasons set forth above,
the Court GRANTS Defendants'
Motion for Leave to Supplement the Detailed Request for Attorneys'
Fees and Costs [Doc. 455].
Pursuant to 17 U.S.C. § 505, the Court
awards Defendants $2,861,348.71 in attorneys' fees and $85,746.39 in
costs.
The Court finds there are no remaining issues to be decided.
•10-
Case l:08-cv-01
j-ODE Document 462 Filed 09/31
J Page 11 of 12
In accordance with the foregoing, the Court DIRECTS the Clerk to
enter final judgment, as follows:
1.
As is more fully detailed in this Court's Orders entered
May 11, 2012
[Doc. 423]
and August 10, 2012
[Doc. 441],
Plaintiff Oxford University Press, Inc. shall have judgment
in its favor on its claim that Defendants infringed its
copyright in The Power Elite; Plaintiff Sage Publications,
Inc. shall have judgment in its favor on its claims that
Defendant infringed its copyrights in The Sage Handbook of
Qualitative Research (Second Edition), The Sage Handbook of
Qualitative
Research
(Third
Edition)
and
Utilization-
Focused Evaluation: The New Century Text (Third Edition).
As
to
all
of
Plaintiffs'
other
claimed
copyright
infringements, as are referenced in the Court's Order of
May 11,
2012,
judgment shall be
entered in Defendants'
favor.
2.
Injunctive relief is entered as follows:
Defendants are
hereby ORDERED and DIRECTED to maintain copyright policies
for Georgia State University which are not inconsistent
with the Court's Orders of May 11, 2012 and August 10,
2012.
to
Defendants are ORDERED and DIRECTED to disseminate
faculty and
relevant
staff
at
Georgia
State
essential points of this Court's aforesaid rulings.
the
The
Court will retain jurisdiction for the sole purpose of
enforcing these Orders.
-11-
..-ODE Document 462 Filed 09/3C. . Page 12 of 12
3.
Declaratory relief is entered as follows:
(1)
The requirement that excerpts be "decidedly small" to
tip factor three in Defendants' favor applies to the
aggregate
of
all
excerpts
from
a
book
which
are
assigned during the term of the course;
(2)
The
holdings
of this case
do not
apply
to books
intended solely for instruction of students enrolled
in a class.
These books would need to be evaluated by
a different fair use analysis;
(3)
The fair use protection outlined in the Court's Order
of May 11, 2012 is conditioned on strict reliance with
measures calculated to protect copyright of excerpts
from unwarranted distribution; and
(4)
Although in limited fact situations fair use may apply
even where an unpaid excerpt is not "decidedly small,"
as
explained
in
the
Order
of
August
10,
2012,
significant caution is called for before determining
that such a use is fair use.
Defendants, as prevailing parties, are AWARDED their reasonable
attorneys'
fees
in the
amount of $2,861,348.71 and costs in the
amount of $85,746.39.
SO ORDERED, this 30th day of September, 2012.
EVANS
UNITED STATES DISTRICT JUDGE
-12-
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