Oral Argument Set for April 6 in Florida Supreme Court Review of Flo & Eddie v. SiriusXM

Florida's Supreme Court said it will hear oral argument April 6 on its review of Flo & Eddie's lawsuit against SiriusXM over performance royalties on sound recordings made before 1972. Flo & Eddie, who own The Turtles' “Happy Together” and the rest of the band's music, appealed to the 11th U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals for a review of a 2015 U.S. District Court decision in Miami that found no specific Florida law allows for pre-1972 performance royalties. The 11th Circuit punted a decision on the Flo & Eddie appeal until the Florida Supreme Court could review whether state law allows for a pre-1972 performance royalty right (see 1606290085). The New York Court of Appeals ruled in December that state common law doesn't allow a pre-1972 performance royalty right, appearing to jeopardize Flo & Eddie's case before the 2nd Circuit Court of Appeals (see 1612200066). Sirius XM agreed in November to a settlement that would pay Flo & Eddie at least $25 million in compensation. The settlement could reach as high as $99 million depending on the outcome of Flo & Eddie's lawsuits in California, Florida and New York (see 1611290054).