Germaine Music v. Universal Songs of Polygram

MEMORANDUM **

Plaintiffs General Crook and his company Germaine Music, pro se before the district court but represented on appeal, appeal from the district court’s grant of summary judgment on all counts. Plaintiffs brought this suit against defendants UMG Recordings, Inc. (“UMG”) and Broadcast Music, Inc. (“BMI”) for copyright infringement, breach of contract, and “theft by deception.” All claims are generally related to an alleged failure to pay royalties on contracts allowing distribution of a song written by plaintiff Crook in the 1970s. The claims against BMI were dismissed in favor of arbitration and BMI is not a party to this appeal.

As the parties are familiar with the facts of the case, we do not recite them in detail here. Because there were issues of material fact, we reverse the district court’s grant of summary judgment, and remand for further proceedings. We further conclude that the district court erred in its implicit denial of plaintiffs “Motion to Compel.” Not only did the district court fail to recognize it as a motion for continuance pursuant to Fed.R.Civ.P. 56(f), it abused its discretion in denying the motion. On remand, the district court is directed to…