Corbello v. DeVito

Filing 1080

ORDER granting ECF No. 1077 Motion to Correct Potential Errors on Verdict Form. Signed by Judge Robert C. Jones on 11/22/2016. (Copies have been distributed pursuant to the NEF - KW)

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UNITED STATES DISTRICT COURT

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DISTRICT OF NEVADA

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_____________________________________
DONNA CORBELLO,

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Plaintiff,
vs.
THOMAS GAETANO DEVITO et al.,
Defendants.

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2:08-cv-00867-RCJ-PAL
ORDER

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Plaintiff Donna Corbello is the widow and heir of Rex Woodard, who assisted Defendant

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Thomas Gaetano “Tommy” DeVito in writing his unpublished autobiography (the “Work”).

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Plaintiff alleges that DeVito and others wrongfully appropriated the Work to develop the

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screenplay for Jersey Boys, a hit musical based on the band The Four Seasons that has played in

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the United States, Canada, England, and Australia. Corbello has sued several companies and

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individuals for copyright infringement, and she has sued DeVito for an accounting and under

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several state law causes of action. The Court granted summary judgment to certain Defendants

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and certified the order for immediate appeal. The Court of Appeals reversed and remanded for

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further proceedings. At the close of Plaintiff’s evidence, Defendants orally moved for judgment

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as a matter of law under Rule 50(a) on all issues, and the Court orally granted the motion in part

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and denied it in part. The jurors have begun their deliberations.

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Plaintiff has filed an emergency motion, having noticed that the verdict form does not

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include Defendant Michael S. David. The parties were provided with copies of the proposed

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verdict form during the November 18, 2016 hearing on jury instructions, as well as during the

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November 21, 2016 reading of the instructions to the jury. No version of the verdict form has

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ever included Mr. David as a Defendant, and no party has ever raised the present objection. Still,

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Plaintiff is correct that Mr. David is listed as a Defendant both in the Third Amended Complaint

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and the Pretrial Order. The Court will therefore provide a corrected verdict form to the jury with

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the following note: “Attached you will find a corrected version of the verdict form that includes

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Defendant Michael S. David. Please keep the first verdict form I gave you in the envelope but

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only complete and sign the corrected version when you reach a verdict.”
CONCLUSION

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IT IS HEREBY ORDERED that the Emergency Motion to Correct Potential Errors on
Verdict Form (ECF No. 1077) is GRANTED.
IT IS SO ORDERED.
Dated this 22nd day of November, 2016.

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_____________________________________
ROBERT C. JONES
United States District Judge

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