Federal Appeals Court Ruling Has New Jersey Singing The Blues in Music Case
In a precedential ruling issued on August 5, 2010, Singer Management Consultants Inc. v. Milgram, No. 09-2238, the United States Court of Appeals for the Third Circuit - the appellate tribunal to the United States District Court for the District of New Jersey - held that New Jersey will have to pay the legal fees for a music promoter that sued the State to stop it from enforcing its "truth-in-music" law. The Third Circuit held that the promoter, Live Gold Operations, Inc. (“Live Gold”), which accused the State of violating its constitutional and trademark rights, was a prevailing party in the underlying litigation thus triggering the fee-shifting statute requiring the State to reimburse the promoter for its attorneys’ fees. The full reported decision can be found here . The United States District Court initially dismissed the case and denied fees, finding the case moot because the State did an about-face once it became clear it would lose the case. Thus, the promoter, Liv...