Monday, April 29, 2013

Ahearn v. Scholz case brief

Ahearn v. Scholz case brief
85 F.3d 774 (1996)

CASE SYNOPSIS: Appellant musician and appellee former manager sought review of a judgment from the United States District Court for the District of Massachusetts finding appellant liable for breach of contract to pay royalties on an album and awarding damages and attorney's fees and costs.

FACTS: Appellee former manager filed a complaint against appellant musician alleging breach of contract for failure to pay royalties. The district court found appellant breached a modification agreement, awarded damages for failure to pay royalties on an album, and granted appellee attorney's fees and costs. The district court denied appellant's postjudgment motions for relief.

HOLDING:
On appeal, the court held that appellee's breach of the contract was not material and that there was a sufficiency of the evidence to support the fraud claim.

ANALYSIS:
The court also held that appellee's claim was not actionable under Mass. Gen. L. ch. 93A, §§ 2, 11, under which appellee was awarded costs, attorney's fees, and interest; the court held that appellant's conduct did not rise to the level that constituted a breach of the state law. The court ruled that testimony of appellee's lead counsel as an expert witness and percipient witness was proper. The court held that the question of whether the agreement was rescinded was required to be determined. The court therefore reversed and remanded in part for a trial on the issue of rescission, and affirmed the other holdings of the district court.

CONCLUSION: Judgment finding appellant musician liable for breach of contract and awarding damages, attorney's fees, costs, and interest affirmed in part, and reversed and remanded in part. Appellee former manager's claim was not actionable under state law, a determination of rescission of the contract was necessary, and evidentiary rulings were proper.

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