Opinion
CV-21-00022-TUC-RM
07-25-2022
Alexander C Baker, et al., Plaintiffs, v. American Society of Composers, Authors and Publishers, et al., Defendants.
ORDER
On December 28, 2021, this Court ordered that the above-captioned case be transferred to the United States District Court for the Southern District of New York pursuant to 28 U.S.C. § 1404(a). (Doc. 44.) On February 25, 2022, Plaintiffs filed a Rule 60(b) Motion for Relief from Judgment, Order or Other Proceeding (Doc. 45), asking this Court to set aside its December 28, 2021 Order and return this case to the District of Arizona. (Doc. 45.) Defendant American Society of Composers, Authors and Publishers (“ASCAP”) filed a Notice informing this Court that Plaintiffs had filed a virtually identical Rule 60(b) Motion in the Southern District of New York. (Doc. 46.) This Court issued an Order holding the Rule 60(b) Motion filed before this Court in abeyance pending a ruling on the Rule 60(b) Motion that Plaintiff had filed in the Southern District of New York. (Doc. 47.)
On July 21, 2022, ASCAP notified this Court that the Southern District of New York had ruled on Plaintiff's Rule 60(b) Motion (Doc. 48), and ASCAP provided this Court with a copy of that ruling (Doc. 48-1). The Southern District of New York denied Plaintiff's Rule 60(b) Motion for several reasons, including: (1) the record confirms that Plaintiffs consented to the transfer of this case from the District of Arizona to the Southern District of New York; (2) even absent such consent, this Court had jurisdiction and authority to transfer the case pursuant to 28 U.S.C. § 1404(a); (3) Plaintiffs' Rule 60(b) Motion improperly sought to relitigate issues already decided; and (4) Plaintiffs had “not come close to showing that there are exceptional circumstances that would justify the extraordinary judicial relief that Rule 60(b) entails.” (Doc. 48-1 at 3 (internal quotation marks omitted).)
Because this case has been transferred, it does not appear that this Court has jurisdiction or authority to grant the Rule 60(b) Motion that Plaintiff filed in this Court. Even if this Court has jurisdiction, however, the Motion should be denied for the above reasons articulated by the Southern District of New York.
Accordingly, IT IS ORDERED that Plaintiff's Rule 60(b) Motion for Relief from Judgment, Order, or Other Proceeding (Doc. 45) is denied.