Kevin Barry Fine Art Assocs. v. Ken Gangbar Studio, Inc.

391 F. Supp. 3d 959
CourtDistrict Court, N.D. California
DecidedJune 24, 2019
DocketCase No. 18-cv-03358-HSG
StatusPublished
Cited by5 cases

This text of 391 F. Supp. 3d 959 (Kevin Barry Fine Art Assocs. v. Ken Gangbar Studio, Inc.) is published on Counsel Stack Legal Research, covering District Court, N.D. California primary law. Counsel Stack provides free access to over 12 million legal documents including statutes, case law, regulations, and constitutions.

Bluebook
Kevin Barry Fine Art Assocs. v. Ken Gangbar Studio, Inc., 391 F. Supp. 3d 959 (N.D. Cal. 2019).

Opinion

HAYWOOD S. GILLIAM, JR., United States District Judge

On June 6, 2018, Plaintiff Kevin Barry Fine Art Associates ("KBFAA") brought this suit against Defendant Ken Gangbar Studio Inc. ("KGSI") for a declaratory judgment of non-infringement. Dkt. No. 1 ("Compl."). On August 7, 2018, KGSI submitted an answer and counterclaims against not only KBFAA but also its owner Kevin A. Barry, as well as John Johnson, Richard McCormack, and Richard McCormack Design d/b/a Studio McCormack ("Studio McCormack"), asserting copyright infringement, as well as conspiracy to commit and substantive violations of the Racketeer Influenced and Corrupt Organizations *964Act ("RICO"), 18 U.S.C. §§ 1961 - 1968. Dkt. No. 18 ("Answer & Counterclaims").

Pending before the Court are two motions to dismiss KGSI's counterclaims. Counterclaim-Defendants Studio McCormack and Mr. McCormack (collectively, "the McCormack Counter-Defendants") filed one motion, Dkt. No. 56 ("McCormack Mot."); Counterclaim-Defendants KBFAA, Mr. Barry, and Mr. Johnson (collectively, "the KBFAA Counter-Defendants") filed the other, Dkt. No. 60 ("KBFAA Mot."). Briefing on these motions is complete. See Dkt. Nos. 65 ("McCormack Opp."), 66 ("McCormack Reply"), 67 ("KBFAA Opp."), 69 ("KBFAA Reply").

I. LEGAL STANDARD

Federal Rule of Civil Procedure ("Rule") 8(a) requires that a complaint contain "a short and plain statement of the claim showing that the pleader is entitled to relief."1 A defendant may move to dismiss a complaint for failing to state a claim upon which relief can be granted under Rule 12(b)(6). "Dismissal under Rule 12(b)(6) is appropriate only where the complaint lacks a cognizable legal theory or sufficient facts to support a cognizable legal theory." Mendiondo v. Centinela Hosp. Med. Ctr. , 521 F.3d 1097, 1104 (9th Cir. 2008). To survive a Rule 12(b)(6) motion, a plaintiff must plead "enough facts to state a claim to relief that is plausible on its face." Bell Atl. Corp. v. Twombly , 550 U.S. 544, 570, 127 S.Ct. 1955, 167 L.Ed.2d 929 (2007). A claim is facially plausible when a plaintiff pleads "factual content that allows the court to draw the reasonable inference that the defendant is liable for the misconduct alleged." Ashcroft v. Iqbal , 556 U.S. 662, 678, 129 S.Ct. 1937, 173 L.Ed.2d 868 (2009).

In reviewing the plausibility of a complaint, courts "accept factual allegations in the complaint as true and construe the pleadings in the light most favorable to the nonmoving party." Manzarek v. St. Paul Fire & Marine Ins. Co. , 519 F.3d 1025, 1031 (9th Cir. 2008). Nonetheless, Courts do not "accept as true allegations that are merely conclusory, unwarranted deductions of fact, or unreasonable inferences." In re Gilead Scis. Sec. Litig. , 536 F.3d 1049, 1055 (9th Cir. 2008). And even where facts are accepted as true, "a plaintiff may plead herself out of court" if she "plead[s] facts which establish that [s]he cannot prevail on [her] ... claim." Weisbuch v. Cnty. of L.A. , 119 F.3d 778, 783 n.1 (9th Cir. 1997) (quotation marks and citation omitted).

II. DISCUSSION

Collectively, the counter-defendants move to dismiss both KGSI's copyright infringement claim and its civil RICO claims. The Court addresses these claims separately.

A. Copyright Infringement

KGSI argues that all counter-defendants "contributorily and/or vicariously infringed KGSI's copyrights." Counterclaims ¶ 43. KGSI accuses the KBFAA Counter-Defendants of physically crafting infringing works and selling them without KGSI's authorization. Id. ¶¶ 17-27. KGSI also accuses Mr. Barry and KBFAA-but not *965Mr. Johnson-of creating digital renderings that depict infringing copies of KGSI's copyrighted works, which were used to support sales of infringing sculptures.2 Id. at 28. And in at least one instance, a KBFAA customer allegedly displayed such a rendering on its website, to attract customers. Id. The KBFAA Counter-Defendants move to dismiss KGSI's infringement counterclaim for failure to state a claim of infringement. See KBFAA Mot. at 4-12.

KGSI separately accuses the McCormack Counter-Defendants of vicarious infringement for soliciting bids to commission an infringing work, which Mr. Barry and his company KBFAA secured. Counterclaims ¶ 23. These counter-defendants move to dismiss KGSI's infringement counterclaim for failure to plead facts demonstrating vicarious liability. McCormack Mot. at 7-8. In other words, the McCormack Counter-Defendants do not dispute at this stage that the underlying commissioned work infringes KGSI's copyright; rather, they dispute whether vicarious liability for the infringement should extend to them.

1. KGSI Has Adequately Stated a Claim for Infringement Against the KBFAA Counter-Defendants

To state a claim for copyright infringement, KGSI must plausibly allege that (1) KGSI owns valid copyrights in the relevant works; and (2) the KBFAA Counter-Defendants copied protected aspects of KGSI's valid copyrights. See Feist Publ'ns, Inc. v. Rural Tel. Serv. Co. , 499 U.S. 340, 361, 111 S.Ct. 1282

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391 F. Supp. 3d 959, Counsel Stack Legal Research, https://law.counselstack.com/opinion/kevin-barry-fine-art-assocs-v-ken-gangbar-studio-inc-cand-2019.