Frazetta Properties, LLC v. Vanguard Productions, LLC

CourtDistrict Court, M.D. Florida
DecidedAugust 29, 2025
Docket8:22-cv-00581
StatusUnknown

This text of Frazetta Properties, LLC v. Vanguard Productions, LLC (Frazetta Properties, LLC v. Vanguard Productions, LLC) is published on Counsel Stack Legal Research, covering District Court, M.D. Florida primary law. Counsel Stack provides free access to over 12 million legal documents including statutes, case law, regulations, and constitutions.

Bluebook
Frazetta Properties, LLC v. Vanguard Productions, LLC, (M.D. Fla. 2025).

Opinion

UNITED STATES DISTRICT COURT MIDDLE DISTRICT OF FLORIDA TAMPA DIVISION

FRAZETTA PROPERTIES, LLC,

Plaintiff,

v. Case No. 8:22-cv-581-WFJ-AEP

VANGUARD PRODUCTIONS, LLC, and JESSE DAVID SPURLOCK,

Defendants. _____________________________________/

ORDER Before the Court is Plaintiff’s Amended Motion for Money Damages, Fees, Expenses, and Costs and Sanctions (“Motion”), Dkt. 285, and Defendants’ Response and Objections (“Response”), Dkt. 287, responding to the Court’s request for such documents in its Order on Motions for Sanctions, Dkt. 279. Upon careful review of the filings, Plaintiff may jointly and severally recover $68,784 in fees, $9,170.61 in costs, $20,000 in statutory damages, and post-judgment interest. Further, Defendants are permanently enjoined from all further infringement of Plaintiff's copyright in Death Dealer II and Death Dealer V, and Defendants are ordered to destroy their remaining inventory of materials that contain infringing images of Death Dealer II and Death Dealer V. BACKGROUND

This case involves a dispute over certain artwork of the late fantasy and science fiction artist Frank Frazetta, Sr.—Specifically, Death Dealer II and Death Dealer V (jointly, “the Artwork”), which were utilized as the cover art for two Death

Dealer novels. Dkt. 128 at 1–3. Plaintiff, claiming copyright ownership in these works, alleged Defendants’ reproduction of these two book covers in their art book, Frazetta Book Cover Art, infringed its copyright. Dkt. 128 at 4. Both parties filed Motions for Summary Judgment, Dkts. 67, 79, 111, which the Court ruled on

(“Summary Judgment Order”), finding that Defendants had infringed upon Plaintiff’s copyright in the Artwork. Dkt. 128 at 32–33.

Defendants eventually filed a Renewed Motion for Reconsideration regarding the Summary Judgment Order. Dkt. 176. This Motion heavily relied upon a misleading document submitted to this Court by Defendants that indicated that a proper license existed, and thus Defendants were within their rights to utilize the

Artwork. Dkt. 176 at 2–3; Dkt. 95-4 (“Vanguard is the exclusive, authorized book publisher of artwork copyright Frank Frazetta and/or Frazetta Properties LLC”). On its face, it appeared this document was signed by Defendant Spurlock, as well as by

William Frazetta, Holly Frazetta, and Heidi Frazetta Grabin. Dkt. 95-4. Relying upon this document, the Court then reconsidered and vacated its Summary Judgment Order. Dkts. 184, 279. The Plaintiffs then filed a Motion for Sanctions, alleging that the document was counterfeit due to the fact that the signatures of William Frazetta, Holly Frazetta,

and Heidi Frazetta Grabin had been copied from other sources and pasted onto the document. Dkt. 218. The Count granted the motion for sanctions, renewed the Summary Judgment Order, and ordered that Defendant Spurlock “respond to this

distraction and waste of resources by covering Plaintiff[’]s attorney fees.” Dkt. 279 at 2. To this end, Plaintiff then filed its Motion outlining damages, fees, and costs, Dkts. 284, 285, and Defendants filed their Response, Dkt. 287. The Court now considers both below.

DISCUSSION

In light of the misleading document submitted to the Court by Defendant, Dkts. 95-4, 279, and the established copyright infringements of the Artwork, Dkts. 128, 279, the Court awards Plaintiff some of its requested remedies, as outlined in the analysis below.

I. Recovery of Fees

The Copyright Act authorizes the Court to award attorneys’ fees to the prevailing party. 17 U.S.C. § 505 (“the court may also award a reasonable attorney’s fee to the prevailing party as part of the costs”). Additionally, this Court has found

Defendants liable for Plaintiff’s attorney’s fees. Dkt. 279 (“Mr. Spurlock must respond to this distraction and waste of resources by covering Plaintiffs’ attorney fees.”); see 28 U.S.C. 1927 (“Any . . . person admitted to conduct cases in any court

of the United States or any Territory thereof who so multiplies the proceedings in any case unreasonably and vexatiously may be required by the court to satisfy personally the excess costs, expenses, and attorneys’ fees reasonably incurred

because of such conduct.”). In calculating attorney fee awards, courts use the lodestar method to calculate the value of an attorney’s services, multiplying the hours reasonably expended by a reasonable hourly rate. Norman v. Hous. Auth. of Montgomery, 836 F.2d 1292, 1298–99 (11th Cir. 1988). The Court notes that

Defendants do not object to Plaintiff counsel’s hourly rates. Plaintiff’s attorney asserts that an amount of work totaling $72,3141 has been

expended in this case. Dkt. 286 at 2; see Dkts. 285-1, 285-2. Defendants object to several of Plaintiff’s specific time entries and dispute $19,165 of these fees. Dkt. 287 at 1–4.

Defendants’ relevant objections to the time entries fall into one of the following arguments: (i) unreasonable or unnecessary work; (ii) the entry is relevant

1 In Exhibit 1 of the Motion, Dkt. 285-1, the billing shows 122.4 hours of the attorney’s work at $300/hr, 0.5 hours of the attorney’s work at $374/hr, and 24.7 hours of the paralegal’s work at $100, for a total of 147.6 hours and $39,377.50 in fees. In Exhibit 2 of the Motion, Dkt. 285-2, the billing shows 64.3 hours of the attorney’s work at $375/hr, 54.9 hours of the paralegal’s work at $160/hr, and 0.4 hours of the paralegal’s work at $100/hr, for a total of 119.6 hours and $32,936.50 in fees. Between these two sets of billing, this amounts to the aforementioned figure of $72,314. to a separate case; or (iii) the work was merely clerical in nature, not legal and fitting of an attorney. Dkt. 287 at 1–4.

As to (i) the reasonableness and necessity of the work, attorneys must exercise billing judgment. Hensley v. Eckerhart, 461 U.S. 424, 434 (1983). Work that is

“excessive, redundant, or otherwise unnecessary” should be excluded from a fee request. Id. Exclusions for excessive billing are left to the discretion of the Court. Norman, 836 F.2d at 1301. Billing for (ii) matters relevant to a separate case cannot be included for self-evident reasons. Further, the work must be (iii) fitting for an

attorney, being legal in nature and not merely clerical. Caplan v. All Am. Auto Collision, Inc., 36 F.4th 1083, 1090–91 (11th Cir. 2022) (quoting Norman, 836 F.2d at 1306) (“[A] district court may conclude that ‘a fee applicant is not entitled to

compensation at an attorney's rate’ where ‘an attorney undertook tasks which were mundane, clerical or which did not require the full exercise of an attorney's education and judgment.’”).

In the Court’s discretion, the following entries on Plaintiff’s time sheet will be modified, while those not mentioned will remain the same, Dkts. 285-1, 285-2; see Dkt. 287 at 1–4: Date Time Rate Task Reduced Reason Entry Fee Awarded Dec. 20, 6.0 $100 Copyright of Dark Kingdom, $0 Relevant to a separate 2021 (WN) calls to copyright office and case – Prior to initial client, online filing, etc. complaint in federal court. Jan. 25, 5.0 $300 Hearing on Motion to $0 Relevant to a separate 2022 (JM) Dismiss. Receipt of Second case – Prior to initial Set of Interrogatories. complaint in federal Plaintiffs Frazetta Properties court. Response to Second Set of Interrogatories and Requests for Prod. and Requests for Admission. Feb.

Free access — add to your briefcase to read the full text and ask questions with AI

Related

Hensley v. Eckerhart
461 U.S. 424 (Supreme Court, 1983)
Crawford Fitting Co. v. J. T. Gibbons, Inc.
482 U.S. 437 (Supreme Court, 1987)
Bryant v. Media Right Productions, Inc.
603 F.3d 135 (Second Circuit, 2010)
Hounddog Productions, L.L.C. v. Empire Film Group, Inc.
826 F. Supp. 2d 619 (S.D. New York, 2011)
Nintendo of America, Inc. v. Ketchum
830 F. Supp. 1443 (M.D. Florida, 1993)
BankAtlantic v. Blythe Eastman Paine Webber, Inc.
12 F.3d 1045 (Eleventh Circuit, 1994)
Ebay Inc. v. Mercexchange, L. L. C.
547 U.S. 388 (Supreme Court, 2006)

Cite This Page — Counsel Stack

Bluebook (online)
Frazetta Properties, LLC v. Vanguard Productions, LLC, Counsel Stack Legal Research, https://law.counselstack.com/opinion/frazetta-properties-llc-v-vanguard-productions-llc-flmd-2025.