Samantha Leather

Case Brief Assignment

SEVERE RECORDS, LLC; CHRIS SEVIER, Plaintiffs-Appellants, v. JOHN RICH;
SHANNA CROOKS; MUZIK MAFIA, LLC; JOHN D. RICHAFELLA
PUBLISHING, Defendants-Appellees.
UNITED STATES COURT OF APPEALS FOR THE SIXTH CIRCUIT
658 F.3d 571; 2011

Facts: Chris Sevier, the plaintiff, is a licensed attorney, and served in the Tennessee Army
National Guard Judge Advocate General Corps. He works in the music-recording industry and is
the managing member of Severe Records. He has produced and wrote hundreds of songs
throughout his career. In 2002, Sevier wrote the music and lyrics for "Better," He recorded the
song, and began pitching the song to recording artists. Sevier entered into an oral agreement with
the defendant Crooks, who is a recording artist. They both wanted to commercially exploit the
song. The oral agreement was designed for Sevier and Crooks to both be the authors of the
copyright in the sound recording they created. The plaintiff claimed that he planned to give
Crooks half of the income generated through the song that they recorded. The defendant Crooks
allowed Sevier to use Crooks name and photographs in exchange for his work. Sevier mixed
and edited "Better" and gave Crooks a copy for her to use and exploit, as well as help her in
recording a full band version. Sevier also wrote the music for "Watching Me Leave" and he and
Crooks co-wrote the song's lyrics.. Crooks included the recordings of "Better" and "Watching
Me Leave" on a compilation. Sevier alleges that this helped her secure a publishing and
management deal with defendants John Rich and/or Richafella Music Publishing and/or
Godfather Music, and also a management deal with defendant Muzik Mafia, LLC (all
collectively with Crooks, "Defendants"). In signing with these entities, Crooks assigned her
copyright ownership in her songs, including "Better" and "Watching Me Leave," to Rich and/or
his publishing company. Rich sent an email to members of Muzik Mafia and other members of
the music industry entitled "Illegal Activity," which accused the plaintiff of "illegally selling
music,"Muzik Mafia sent Sevier a cease-and-desist letter concerning music by artists including
Crooks. The cease-and-desist letter accused Sevier of copyright infringement for the sale of
unauthorized recordings and of false endorsement. Plaintiffs' initial complaint alleged libel,
false light, malicious harassment, intentional infliction of emotional distress, interference with
contract, and copyright infringement In response to a motion to dismiss, Plaintiffs filed an
amended complaint which again alleged numerous state law claims along with two purported
federal jurisdictional hooks: the Declaratory Judgment Act and, in the alternative, the Copyright
Act.
Issue: that a determination of copyright ownership based on a disputed allegation of coauthorship presents a federal question that arises under, and must be determined according to, the
Copyright Act. Whether or not the cause of action anticipated by the declaratory judgment
plaintiff arises under federal law. whether Defendants could have sued Plaintiffs for copyright
infringement under the theory that Sevier was not an author or owner of "Better" or "Watching
Me Leave" and (2) whether such an action would have arisen under federal law.
Decision: no claim for copyright infringement was properly alleged.