Parker
Systems XIX, Inc. v. Parker
Opinion
Opinion
Illston, J.
ORDER GRANTING IN PART AND DENYING IN PART DEFENDANTS’ MOTION FOR SUMMARY JUDGMENT
On November 6, 1998, the Court heard argument on defendants’ motion for summary judgment. Having carefully considered the moving and opposing papers and the arguments of counsel, and for the reasons set out below, the motion is GRANTED in part and DENIED in part.
BACKGROUND
Plaintiff Maritime Hall Productions (Maritime) owns Maritime Hall, a combined amphitheater and recording studio in San Francisco, California. Defendants are Lawrence Parker (Parker), a performer of rap music who performs under the name “KRS-ONE”, and Zomba Recording Corporation (Zomba), the record company responsible for the marketing and distribution of Parker’s songs. Zomba is the copyright owner of Parker’s musical compositions and recordings.
In mid-January 1997, Albert Cook, a concert promoter, contacted Maritime’s president, Boots Hughston, to arrange a concert involving Parker at the Maritime Hall. Over the course of the next four weeks, Cook, Hughston, and Wesley Powell, Parker’s road manager, negotiated the terms of the performance contract.