Facts
- Patrick Moxey founded Ultra Records in 1995, which became Ultra Records, LLC, while establishing Ultra International Music Publishing in 2004. [lines="12-18"]
- In 2012, part of Ultra Records was sold, including a license for Ultra Publishing to use the Ultra trademark. [lines="24-32"]
- The buyer of Ultra Records terminated the trademark license in 2021, leading to Ultra Records filing a lawsuit against Ultra Publishing for continued mark usage. [lines="32-35"]
- Ultra Publishing filed a motion for partial summary judgment regarding mark ownership and disgorgement related to alleged infringement. [lines="36-40"]
- The court noted Publishing's acknowledgment of Records as the senior mark holder in the music-recording industry but claimed ownership of the mark in music publishing prior to 2012. [lines="66-70"]
Issues
- Whether Ultra Publishing owned the Ultra mark in the music-publishing industry before 2012, impacting Records' infringement claim. [lines="64-70"]
- Whether Ultra Records is required to show that profits directly resulted from the alleged infringement for a disgorgement claim. [lines="148-150"]
Holdings
- The court found that the issue of mark ownership was genuinely disputed, as Records needed only to prove ownership of a valid mark rather than specific rights in a particular industry. [lines="143-143"]
- The court denied Publishing's motion for summary judgment regarding disgorgement, stating that Records only needed to show gross sales and that the burden of proof for costs rested with the defendant. [lines="256-260"]
OPINION
Case Information
*1 Case 1:24-cv-02912-JPC Document 7 Filed 05/09/24 Page 1 of 2 UNITED STATES DISTRICT COURT
SOUTHERN DISTRICT OF NEW YORK
---------------------------------------------------------------------- X
: KEITH E. PYNE and ENRICO DESIATA, :
: Plaintiffs, : : 24 Civ. 2912 (JPC) -v- : : ORDER CKR LAW LLP and JEFFREY RINDE, :
: Defendants. : : ---------------------------------------------------------------------- X
JOHN P. CRONAN, United States District Judge:
Plaintiffs filed the Complaint in this action on April 17, 2024. Dkt. 1 (“Compl.”). Plaintiffs invoked the Court’s subject matter jurisdiction on the ground of diversity of citizenship under 28 U.S.C. § 1332(a) because “Plaintiffs and Defendants are citizens of Arizona and Panama, respectively, and the amount in controversy is not less than [$750,000].” Id. ¶ 5. [1] The Complaint alleges that Plaintiff Keith E. Pyne is a citizen of Arizona, Plaintiff Enrico Desiata is a citizen of Italy and a permanent resident of Panama, and Defendant Jeffrey Rinde is a citizen of New York. Id. ¶¶ 1-3. Plaintiffs also allege that Defendant CKR Law LLP (“CKR”) “is a limited liability partnership duly authorized and existing under the laws of the State of California, with its principal office located [in] . . . New York.” Id. ¶ 4.
“[F]or a[] [limited liability partnership (‘LLP’)], citizenship depends on the citizenship of its partners: an LLP is treated as a citizen of every state of which its partners are citizens.” Roche Cyrulnik Freedman LLP v. Cyrulnik , 582 F. Supp. 3d 180, 187 (S.D.N.Y. 2022). Accordingly, *2 Case 1:24-cv-02912-JPC Document 7 Filed 05/09/24 Page 2 of 2 Plaintiffs are ordered to file an amended complaint alleging the citizenship of each of CKR’s partners by May 16, 2024. If Plaintiffs fail to amend the Complaint by that date or otherwise properly establish this Court’s jurisdiction pursuant to 28 U.S.C. § 1332(a), the Court may dismiss this action for lack of subject matter jurisdiction without further notice.
SO ORDERED. Dated: May 9, 2024 __________________________________
New York, New York JOHN P. CRONAN
United States District Judge 2
[1] It is not entirely apparent why Plaintiffs used “respectively” in this paragraph of the Complaint, as this description only appears to describe Plaintiffs’ own citizenships. Nor is it clear why Plaintiffs allege, as a basis for this Court’s jurisdiction, that the amount-in-controversy is not less than $750,000, as the threshold for diversity jurisdiction is $75,000. See 28 U.S.C. § 1332(a).