The Boston Globe addressed this week Sullivan & Worcester LLP client Mark Rappaport’s dispute with Boston University professor Ray Carney concerning the custody of Rappaport’s original film archive. My partner Kevin Colmey has represented Rappaport in this regard for over a year, and I appeared on Rappaport’s behalf at a hearing last year as well.
Rappaport is an American film director who has been directing independent and underground films since the 1970s. Rappaport has known Carney, who had written about Rappaport’s films prior to their first meeting, since approximately 1990.
In about March 2005, Rappaport was preparing to leave New York and relocate to Paris. At that time, Carney offered to hold and safeguard certain property related to Rappaport’s films, including: digital video masters (in various formats) of Casual Relations, Local Color, The Scenic Route, Impostors and Chain Letters; digital video masters of shorter works such as Postcards, Exterior Night, and Mark Rappaport – The TV Spin-Off; 16mm copies of Casual Relations, Local Color, The Scenic Route, Impostors, Chain Letters, Rock Hudson’s Home Movies, From The Journals of Jean Seberg and The Silver Screen/Color Me Lavender; high definition master of Exterior Night; and scripts (drafts and final), clippings, reviews and announcements of screenings related to Rappaport’s films.
Last year, Rappaport requested the return of the property, in particular the original video masters, for use in digitizing certain of his works, and the disagreement ensued. We eventually filed suit on behalf of Rappaport and obtained a temporary restraining order on June 26, 2012 compelling the immediate and complete return of the property. Carney later retained an attorney and moved to set aside that order, at which point Rappaport dismissed the lawsuit (but without conceding at all the question of ownership).
The Globe article discusses the history and certain information that Carney has apparently provided to BU and the paper. Notably, the Globe states that “nowhere in the e-mails Carney shared does Rappaport say the materials were a gift” in response to Carney’s claims that the material was given to him (which Rappaport vehemently contests).
