Cases
Experience: Marty has had substantial trial, arbitration
appellate experience over the course of the past forty years. Marty has served as lead trial counsel in numerous jury trials, bench trials, judicial references
complex arbitrations. He has litigated cases not only in California, but also in Arizona, Colorado, Florida, Illinois, Minnesota, New Jersey, New York, the United Kingdom, Holl
, Austria
Cyprus.
Marty has also briefed
argued more than fifteen appeals before state
federal courts
he has been instrumental in securing a number of l
mark published decisions.
Representative Matters: Marty served as lead counsel for Row 44, a Global Eagle Entertainment company that supplies internet connectivity
the entertainment portal for Southwest Airlines. SwiftAir invested over $2 million in creating a destination deal offering product for Southwest Airlines passengers
then sued Row 44 after Southwest Airlines opted not to use the product. In September 2019, after a three week jury trial, Marty obtained a full defense verdict for Row 44.
Marty served as lead counsel for Fincantieri, an Italian shipbuilding company, in the matter giving rise to Fincantieri-Cantieri Navdli Italaliani S.p.A., v. Yuzwa, 241 So. 3d 938 (Fla. App. 2018). After a dancer was severely injured on the entertainment stage of a cruise liner built by Fincantieri, the company was sued in California
Florida. After substantial jurisdictional discovery
motion practice, the California case was dismissed. After a trial court upheld jurisdiction in Florida, Marty briefed
argued an interlocutory appeal in which the Florida Court of Appeal reversed the trial court's decision.
Marty served as lead counsel for dick clark productions
Red Zone Capital in the highly publicized three week bench trial against the Hollywood Foreign Press Association over rights to produce
distribute the Golden Globe Awards show. The trial focused on the interpretation of twelve words contained in a 1993 amendment to a production
distribution agreement. Nineteen witnesses testified at trial
over 450 exhibits were admitted. In an 89 page opinion, the federal district court sided with dick clark productions
concluded that it is entitled to continue producing
distributing the popular awards program so long as the show is licensed for broadcast on NBC.
Marty served as lead counsel for various MGM companies,
briefed
argued an interlocutory appeal, in the matter giving rise to Madison Miracle Productions, LLC v. MGM Distribution Company, 978 N.E. 2d 654 (Ill App. 2012). In that case, the trial court held a three-day evidentiary hearing on MGM Distribution Company's motion to dismiss for lack of personal jurisdiction. After the trial court denied the motion, MGM filed a petition for leave to appeal, which was granted by the Illinois Appellate Court. Thereafter, the Appellate Court reversed the trial court's decision in a 42 page published opinion focusing on the 'minimum contacts' prong of the federal due process st
ard for personal jurisdiction.
Marty was lead counsel for Columbia Pictures,
briefed
argued the appeal, in C3 Entertainment, Inc. v. Columbia Pictures Television, Inc. This was a judicial reference filed in 2006 by certain rights holders to The Three Stooges, claiming that Columbia Pictures failed to use 'reasonable good faith efforts' to distribute a half hour television series that incorporated material from the well-known 'shorts.' Following an 18 day trial spanning four months, Marty obtained a complete defense judgment, which was affirmed on appeal in 2010.
Marty served as lead counsel,
briefed
argued two interlocutory appeals, in the matter giving rise to the l
mark decision in the entertainment field, Wolf v. Superior Court, 106 Cal. App. 4th 625 (2003). In that case, the Court of Appeal held that the duty of a studio to account to a profit or revenue participant does not give rise to a fiduciary duty. This case ended the primary exposure for punitive damages that institutional players in the entertainment industry faced for nearly four decades. Marty tried the remainder of the case before a jury for sixteen weeks in 2005. Following trial, Marty won another l
mark appellate decision in this case. In Wolf v. Walt Disney Pictures
Television, 162 Cal. App. 4th 1107 (2008), the Court of Appeal confirmed the judgment in favor of Disney on Wolf's claims, reversed the trial court on a contract interpretation issue that enabled Disney to correct accounting errors made in favor of Wolf,
clarified the application of the implied covenant of good faith
fair dealing to contracts containing discretionary rights provisions.
Marty represented various Disney companies,
briefed
argued the appeal, in Corwin v. The Walt Disney Company, 475 F.3d 1239 (11 Cir. 2007). This was a copyright case, in which the plaintiff claimed that the Epcot theme park, as built, infringed a painting allegedly shown to Disney in the 1960s. The Eleventh Circuit upheld the district court's decision granting summary judgment in favor of Walt Disney World Co., based on the application of the extrinsic test for assessing claimed similarities,
the doctrine of independent creation. Based on the application of Daubert, the Eleventh Circuit also upheld the district court's decision striking the testimony of the experts proffered by Corwin on the claimed similarities.
Marty was lead counsel,
briefed
argued the appeal, in Robert Wagner v. Columbia Pictures Industries, Inc., 146 Cal. App. 4th 586 (2007). In that case, the Court of Appeal upheld the trial court's order granting summary judgment in favor of Columbia Pictures, rejecting Wagner's argument that theatrical motion picture rights are 'subsidiary rights' of the right to exploit a television series. In doing so, the court rejected Wagner's reliance on evidence of general intent that was not tied to the words chosen by the parties in their agreement.
Marty was lead counsel,
briefed
argued the appeal, in St. Paul Fire & Marine Ins. Co. v. Compaq Computer Co., 539 F.3d 809 (2008). In that case, the Eighth Circuit affirmed the district court's order granting summary judgment in favor of Compaq, holding that St. Paul owed Compaq a duty to defend a class action arising from allegedly defective floppy disk controllers. The Eighth Circuit held that a claim for breach of warranty fell within the definition of 'error' in the Technology E & O policy issued to Compaq,
the relief sought in the class action fell within the definition of 'damages.' The Eighth Circuit also reversed the trial court's order denying Compaq's claim for eighteen percent statutory penalties under Texas's Prompt Payment of Claims statute.
Marty was an integral member of the trial
appellate team that culminated in the l
mark decision in Armstrong World Industries, Inc. v. Aetna Casualty & Surety Co., 45 Cal. App. 4th 1 (1996), following a fifteen month multi-phase trial, in which the Court of Appeal broadly interpreted the 'occurrence' wording in CGL
umbrella insurance policies.
Marty was also lead counsel in the matter giving rise to the decision in Martin Marietta Corp. v. Insurance Co. of North America, 40 Cal. App. 4th 1113 (1995), in which the Court of Appeal broadly interpreted the 'personal injury' coverage of a CGL insurance policy.
Other representative matters include claims arising from or involving: Participation accounting
contract disputes involving rights holders, writers, actors
other participants
Allocation disputes over television packages
output agreements
Copyright infringement
idea submission claims involving motion pictures, theme parks
music rights
Disputes over basic cable distribution rights, including disputes focusing on rights of assignment
accounting issues
Disputes over merch
ising rights
accounting issues involving cartoon characters
Disputes over claims for breach of the implied covenant of good faith
fair dealing
Disputes over 'best efforts'
'reasonable good faith efforts' clauses
Disputes over interactive rights
gaming licenses
Performer walkout on the eve of principal photography resulting in the shut down of the production
Claims for breach of executive employment/compensation agreements
Disputes involving special effects
3-D animation house
Disputes over rights to film library
Disputes involving sports memorabilia company
Disputes over long term output agreements with major foreign media companies
Disputes over producer final cut rights, movie ratings
Disputes over exploitation of movies, television series
merch
ise by vertically integrated enterprises
Talent Agency disputes, individuals claims over agent departures
Whistleblower claims
Wrongful death claim arising out of the production
broadcast of a talk show
Insurance coverage disputes arising from errant broadcasters, performer injuries, force majeure events
Representative Clients: Marty's clients have included the following companies, as well as certain of their affiliated entities:
Abrams Artists Agency
Adconion Media Group
Amobee, Inc.
Axos Bank
Batjac Productions
Compaq
Conversion Logic
Curiously Bright Entertainment
dick clark productions
Endemol Shine
eOne Entertainment
Fincantieri
Global Eagle Entertainment
Hewlett-Packard
IAC/InterActiveCorp
ICM
Lockheed Martin
Martin Marietta
Meridith Baer Home Staging
Metro Goldwyn Mayer
Miramax
Modern Video Film
Nu Image
Paramount Pictures
Red Zone
Reveille
Saban Entertainment
Sony Pictures Entertainment
Technicolor
United Broadcasting Company
The Walt Disney Company
Wargaming World Limited
World Poker Tour
