Pharrell. Robin Thicke. Marvin Gaye. Joe Francis. Pitbull. Ke$ha. Bill Cosby. Taylor Swift. Tom Brady. Jay Z. Timbaland. Besides varying degrees of fame, they also have another thing in common: their involvement in federal litigation in 2015. Although these celebrity cases involved different issues, they each provide valuable lessons in federal civil procedure to litigators.

In January 2015, a California federal court issued rulings on numerous motions in limine in copyright litigation between Pharrell, Robin Thicke, rapper T.I., and Marvin Gaye's heirs. (Gaye's heirs ultimately won the case after a jury trial, and the case is currently on appeal.) The court's pre-trial rulings illustrate how parties can effectively use motions in limine in litigation to shape evidence to their advantage even before trial begins (see Legal Update, Marvin Gaye's Heirs Got to Give It Up After Judge Grants Motions in Limine). Motions in limine are critical for trial, as are Practical Law's resources on drafting and filing them:

Also in January of 2015, although Joe Francis of Girls Gone Wild fame made every effort to avoid responding to discovery in a case against him in New Jersey federal court, the court nonetheless found in Francis's favor, because plaintiff's counsel had failed to comply with various rules in drafting and serving the discovery at issue (see Legal Update, Lessons to Learn from Service Gone Wild). The court's rulings highlight the importance of adhering to the Federal Rules of Civil Procedure (FRCP) and local court rules when drafting and serving discovery requests. Practical Law has several toolkits containing resources to help counsel with all aspects of written discovery requests, including:

In April 2015, a New York federal court's ruling in an infringement case over Pitbull and Ke$ha's hit song, "Timber," raised interesting issues on personal jurisdiction and the US Supreme Court's decision in Daimler AG v. Bauman, 134 S. Ct. 746 (2014) (see Legal Update, Lessons on Personal Jurisdiction Over Foreign Corporations from Pitbull and Ke$ha). Practical Law has several resources on this complex and often-litigated area of procedural law, including these Practice Notes:

In July 2015, a Pennsylvania federal court unsealed deposition testimony that Bill Cosby gave nearly a decade before, in which he admitted to acquiring prescriptions for Quaaludes in the 1970s (see Legal Update, Pound Cake and Quaaludes: Why Bill Cosby's Deposition Transcript Was Unsealed). Cosby and his attorneys likely thought the deposition testimony, which was later sealed, and the case, which was later settled, would disappear forever. However, the rigorous and complicated standards for keeping documents sealed were ultimately not met in Cosby's case. (For more on the complicated process of sealing documents and the standards courts use for maintaining documents as sealed under FRCP 26(c), see Practice Notes, Filing Documents Under Seal in Federal Court and Filing Documents in Federal District Court: Filing Documents Under Seal.)

In August 2015, FRCP 26(c) also became a roadblock for Taylor Swift, whose attorneys sought a protective order to prevent her deposition in a trademark infringement case against her in California federal court (see Legal Update, Swift Justice (Even Taylor Gets Deposed)). The court's order, which denied Swift's motion, discussed several procedural issues the case raised, including when apex depositions are appropriate and the proper bases for a protective order. (For more on apex depositions, see Article, Opposing Apex Depositions of Top Corporate Executives. For more on depositions generally, see Practical Law's Deposition Toolkit, which contains a comprehensive list of deposition how-to resources.)

The summer of 2015 was also abuzz with Tom Brady's involvement in the Deflategate scandal, which touched on all aspects of federal civil procedure, from transfer of venue to spoliation of electronically stored information (ESI), thanks in part to Brady's alleged destruction of potentially incriminating text messages (see Legal Update, Practical Law's Deflategate Playbook). In September, a New York federal court vacated an arbitration award imposing a four-game suspension on Brady. The case is currently on appeal.

In October 2015, Jay Z and Timbaland showed off their comedic and entertainment talents as trial witnesses in a federal copyright infringement case (see Legal Update, Handling Surprises at Trial: Jay Z Takes the Stand in Big Pimpin' Case). However, Jay Z's forgetfulness on the stand during direct examination by his own attorney underscored the need for trial lawyers to adequately prepare their witnesses before trial, and to prepare for trial generally. Practical Law has many resources to help counsel prepare for trial, including the Practice Note, Preparing for Trial (Federal).

As 2015 demonstrated, celebrities are not above the law. Their involvement in federal litigation raises interesting issues and, along with Practical Law resources, provide valuable insight to litigators on navigating federal civil procedure.