Monday, August 12, 2013

Copyright Law - Sixth Circuit - Plaintiff's Counsel Sanctioned Over $500,000 For Lousy Lawyering

Copyright Infringements, Ethics, Sanctions, Attorney Sanctions, Attorneys Fees

Fharmacy Records v. Nassar, 465 Fed.Appx. 448 February 23, 2012 (February 23, 2012).  This appeal is the continuation of a copyright lawyer’s worst nightmare.  In an earlier appeal 379 Fed.Appx. 522 (6th Cir. 2010), the Sixth Circuit upheld dismissal of a copyright infringement complaint for fraud on the court and imposed significant sanctions on counsel personally.  In this appeal, the district court awarded over $500,000 in attorneys fees against plaintiff and plaintiff’s counsel jointly.  Suffice it to say that plaintiff’s counsel seems to have not focused objections on the matter before the court and wasted firepower on issues that were already law of the case.  This case is a must-read primer on how not to litigate a copyright case and the perils of compounding a bad case or theory by not promptly withdrawing it.

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