Class Certification Denied In Foreign Streaming Royalties Case

Leonard Williams v. Warner Music Group Corp., No. 2:18-cv-09691-RGK-PJW (C.D. Cal. Feb. 27, 2020) [Doc. 76]

On December 21, 2018, Leonard Williams and The Lenny Williams Production Company (“Plaintiffs) filed a class action against Warner Music Group, Warner Bros. Records, and several Doe defendants. The complaint asserted various causes of action based on the alleged failure by the Defendants to pay the full royalty amounts due to Williams and other artists for digital streaming of songs in foreign countries. The Plaintiffs then filed a motion to certify the putative class where the proposed class encompassed artists who have an agreement with Warner that either: (1) expressly provides for streaming royalties, (2) does not expressly provide for streaming royalties, but contains a general licensing provision, or (3) has neither a digital streaming or general licensing provision. In ruling on the motion to certify, the court recited the typicality requirement of Federal Rule of Civil Procedure 23(a)(3) and found that Williams’ contract fell into the third category of contracts, which presented unique defenses that “threaten[ed] to become the focus of th[e] litigation.” As a result, the Court concluded that under Federal Rule of Civil Procedure 23(a)(3) Plaintiffs’ claims or defenses were not typical of the class he sought to represent and denied the motion to certify the class.