U.S. District Judge Lets Flo & Eddie Suit Against Sirius XM Proceed as Class Action

U.S. District Judge Philip Gutierrez let Flo & Eddie's lawsuit in Los Angeles against SiriusXM move forward Wednesday as a class action. Flo & Eddie, which owns the copyright to The Turtles' "Happy Together" and the rest of that band's music library, claims SiriusXM failed to pay royalties to the company for all of The Turtles' pre-1972 songs. Gutierrez previously found SiriusXM liable in September for royalties on The Turtles' pre-1972 recordings (see report in the Sept. 24, 2014, issue), but Flo & Eddie had sought a class-action suit in March against SiriusXM to allow other bands to seek royalties on pre-1972 recordings. SiriusXM had opposed class certification because it would be difficult to accurately determine royalties for each band that joined the suit. Gutierrez ruled Wednesday that "a class action is superior to individual litigation to the fair and efficient adjudication of the present controversy” given “SiriusXM’s aggressive litigation tactics thus far, its public statements about intent to appeal adverse decisions, and its decision to continue to perform pre-1972 recordings without authorization.” Sirius XM “treats every single owner of a pre-1972 song the same, namely it doesn't pay them, so it was appropriate for this court to grant class certification,” said Flo & Eddie lawyer Henry Gradstein in a statement. Sirius XM didn’t comment.