Viva Video, Inc. v. Cabrera

9 F. App'x 77
CourtCourt of Appeals for the Second Circuit
DecidedMay 25, 2001
DocketNos. 00-7947(L), 00-9207(CON)
StatusPublished
Cited by17 cases

This text of 9 F. App'x 77 (Viva Video, Inc. v. Cabrera) is published on Counsel Stack Legal Research, covering Court of Appeals for the Second Circuit primary law. Counsel Stack provides free access to over 12 million legal documents including statutes, case law, regulations, and constitutions.

Bluebook
Viva Video, Inc. v. Cabrera, 9 F. App'x 77 (2d Cir. 2001).

Opinion

SUMMARY ORDER

AFTER ARGUMENT AND UPON DUE CONSIDERATION, IT IS HEREBY ORDERED, ADJUDGED AND DECREED that the June 21, 2000 order of the District Court is hereby AFFIRMED and the August 28, 2000 order of the District Court is hereby VACATED and the case is REMANDED.

Defendants-Appellants Ray and Almira Cabrera (collectively “Cabreras”) appeal from separate orders of the United States District Court for the Eastern District of New York (John Gleeson, Judge) (1) denying in part and granting in part their motion for attorneys’ fees after they prevailed in an action brought by PlaintiffsAppellees Viva Video, Inc. and Viva Productions, Inc. (collectively “Viva”) under the Copyright Act, 17 U.S.C. § 101 et seq., and (2) denying their recovery of the attorneys’ fees to which the court initially found they were entitled because they failed adequately to document the amount of those fees.

Viva brought this action alleging that the Cabreras and others violated the Copyright Act by selling counterfeit and unauthorized Viva videotapes. On the day that it filed the action, Viva successfully moved ex parte for a temporary restraining order and an order of seizure and impoundment. In support of this motion, Viva submitted the affidavit of its president, Ernani Pangilinan (“Pangilinan”), without informing the District Court that Pangilinan had not himself signed the affidavit. Instead, a member of Viva’s law firm had signed the affidavit in Pangilinan’s name, and Viva’s counsel, Richard R. Zayas, had notarized the affidavit as if it had been signed by Pangilinan. Pangilinan represented that he had signed a faxed draft of the affidavit and had authorized his attorneys to execute the original. Subsequently, after a hearing at which Viva failed to show a likelihood of success on the merits, the District Court denied Viva’s motion for a preliminary injunction against the Cabreras. As a result, Viva agreed to withdraw its claims against the Cabreras with prejudice. The Cabreras then moved, as “prevailing parties,” for attorneys’ fees under 17 U.S.C. § 505.

In a March 31, 2000 report and recommendation, Magistrate Judge Cheryl L. Poliak recommended denying in part the Cabreras’ motion for fees, finding that Viva had not filed an action “that was totally without support at the time it was initiated or that was lacking in objective reasonableness at the time the suit was commenced.” However, finding that “the presentation of an affidavit bearing what purported to be Pangilinaris signature, without further explanation, was objectively unreasonable under any reasonable standard,” the Magistrate Judge recommended granting fees “for the time expended exploring and pursuing” the Pangilinan affidavit issue. Because, however, the Cabreras’ request for fees was not accompanied by sufficient contemporaneous time records, the magistrate recommended that the Cabreras be ordered to submit documentation indicating what portion of the requested costs was incurred in connection with the Pangilinan affidavit. In a June 21, 2000 order the District Court adopted the magistrate judge’s report and recommendation in its entirety.

[79]*79The Cabreras thereupon submitted their counsel’s computerized time sheets, a letter estimating the portion of their total fees that was attributable to the Pangilinan affidavit issue, and a second letter explaining why it was difficult to calculate more precisely what portion was attributable to that issue. The Magistrate considered these submissions and issued another report and recommendation dated August 4, 2000. The Magistrate recommended denying the Cabrera’s request for fees, finding that the Cabreras’ submissions failed to comply with the requirements of this Court, set forth in New York Ass’n for Retarded Children, Inc. v. Carey, 711 F.2d 1136, 1148 (2d Cir.1983). According to the Magistrate, the court still lacked contemporaneous time records “from which to ascertain whether defendants’ ‘estimate’ of costs and fees is reasonable.” The Magistrate declined to give the Cabreras another chance to supplement their application for fees, since their initial application itself was deficient in that it did not include contemporaneous time records. The District Court adopted the recommendation on August 28, 2000, and this timely appeal followed.

“The standard of review of an award of attorney’s fees is highly deferential to the district court.” Alderman v. Pan Am World Airways, 169 F.3d 99, 102 (2d Cir.1999) (internal quotation marks omitted). “Attorney’s fees must be reasonable in terms of the circumstances of the particular ease, and the district court’s determination will be reversed on appeal only for an abuse of discretion.” Id. “‘Abuse of discretion’ is one of the most deferential standards of review; it recognizes that the district court, which is intimately familiar with the nuances of the case, is in a far better position to make cei’tain decisions than is an appellate court, which must work from a cold record.” In re Bolar Pharm. Co. Sec. Litig., 966 F.2d 731, 732 (2d Cir.1992) (per curiam). However, “[a] district court necessarily abuses its discretion if its conclusions are based on an erroneous determination of law or on clearly erroneous factual findings.” Rev-son v. Cinque & Cinque, P.C., 221 F.3d 71, 78 (2d Cir.2000); see also Knitwaves, Inc. v. Lollytogs Ltd., 71 F.3d 996, 1012 (2d Cir.1995) (noting that this Court may reverse an award of attorneys’ fees “if the district court applied the wrong legal standard” (citations omitted)).

Section 505 of the Copyright Act provides that

[i]n any civil action under this title, the court in its discretion may allow the recovery of full costs by or against any party other than the United States or -an officer thereof. Except as otherwise provided by this title, the court may also award a reasonable attorney’s fee to the prevailing party as part of the costs.

17 U.S.C. § 505. In Fogerty v. Fantasy, 510 U.S. 517, 534, 114 S.Ct. 1023, 127 L.Ed.2d 455 (1994), the Supreme Court held that the standard governing the award of attorneys’ fees under section 505 should be identical for prevailing plaintiffs and prevailing defendants. In dicta, the Court noted that “[t]here is no precise rule or formula for making [attorneys’.fees] determinations, but instead equitable discretion should be exercised,” id.

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Bluebook (online)
9 F. App'x 77, Counsel Stack Legal Research, https://law.counselstack.com/opinion/viva-video-inc-v-cabrera-ca2-2001.