Lewis Brisbois Secures Award of Attorneys’ Fees in California Copyright Infringement Case

Los Angeles, Calif. (May 8, 2019) – A team led by Los Angeles Partner Daniel C. DeCarlo and Robert M. Collins recently secured an award of attorneys’ fees, in addition to a complete defense of all claims against the firm’s client, in a copyright infringement case before the U.S. District Court for Central California. Lewis Brisbois represented Omnia Media in GraceHouse Group, LLC, et al. v. Isaac Moraleja, et al. (Case No. CV 18-268-MWF, Order issued May 6, 2019), which involved the well-known Latin gospel music artist Christine D’Clario and her publishing company GraceHouse Music, who brought suit for alleged copyright infringement of Ms. D’Clairo’s artistic works broadcast on You Tube allegedly without her consent. Omnia Media managed the co-defendant’s YouTube channels where the content was allegedly improperly shared and broadcast.

Early in the case, Messrs. DeCarlo and Collins identified dispositive issues that ultimately forced the plaintiffs to stipulate to a dismissal rather than face a summary judgment motion. In February 2019, the parties stipulated to dismiss Omnia Media with prejudice and deemed Omnia Media as the “prevailing party.” A motion for attorneys’ fees and costs was then filed.

The court agreed that Omnia Media was entitled to an award of attorneys’ fees and used the “lodestar method” established in Lawrence v. Sony Pictures Entm’t, Inc. 532 F. App’x 651 (9th Cir. 2013) to determine a reasonable fee award. After an exhaustive analysis, the court awarded a sum of $112,430.50 in attorneys’ fees to our client Omnia Media.

“We had identified early on that this is a case that never should have been brought against our client and urged our adversary to drop the case,” said co-lead counsel Mr. Collins. “They persisted for months to advance non-meritorious claims hoping, of course, to obtain some money from our client. But to our client’s great credit, they refused to pay out on a case that had no merit. We are very pleased with the outcome of the case.”

Read the full order here.