Marcy Playground, Inc. v. Capitol Records, Inc.

6 F. Supp. 2d 277 (1998)

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Marcy Playground, Inc. v. Capitol Records, Inc.

United States District Court for the Southern District of New York
6 F. Supp. 2d 277 (1998)

SH

Facts

In 1995, Jared Kotler (plaintiff) and John Wozniak (defendant) started the band “Marcy Playground.” Kotler was the drummer and producer for the band, and his cousin, Jeff White, financed their efforts. Kotler, Wozniak, and White then formed Marcy Playground, Inc. (MPI) (plaintiff) and entered into an exclusive recording contract with EMI-America (EMI). In 1996, EMI did not release the first album contemplated under the recording contract—Marcy Playground—because EMI allegedly threatened to withhold release until Kotler agreed to stop performing due to concerns that his allegedly poor drum performances were hurting the band. Kotler stopped performing with Marcy Playground at that time. To prevent any further delay of the album’s release, EMI and Wozniak agreed to credit Kotler on the album as co-producer and include a Kotler/White production logo on the packaging. In February 1997, Marcy Playground was released to insignificant sales. Meanwhile, EMI ceased operations and Capitol Records, Inc. (Capitol) (defendant) assumed the MPI recording contract. In September 1997, Capitol re-released Marcy Playground without the credits previously given to Kotler and the album became a substantial success. There were efforts to resolve the credit dispute between Kotler and Wozniak following the album’s re-release, but discussions broke down entirely in March 1998. In April 1998, Kotler filed suit, arguing that the album’s re-release without credit for his alleged contributions as producer violated the Lanham Act and his contractual rights. Kotler sought to preliminary enjoin the continued distribution of Marcy Playground.

Rule of Law

Issue

Holding and Reasoning (Kaplan, J.)

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