Alliance for Water Efficiency v. James Fryer

Sykes, Circuit Judge.

James Fryer and the Alliance for Water Efficiency set out to produce a study about drought. Unfortunately, the collaboration ran dry, and the Alliance sued Fryer under the Copyright Act, 17 U.S.C. §§ 101 et seq. The lawsuit proved to be far less troublesome than the ensuing settlement. While the parties were supposed to part ways and publish their own reports, they instead find themselves in the fourth year of protracted litigation.

The parties' disputes center on their obligations under the settlement. Years ago the district court ordered Fryer to turn over certain data…