Collier v. Cash et al.

Beck Redden secured a final judgment exceeding $1.7M for photographer Sinden Collier against plastic surgeon Camille G. Cash and her medical practice in a federal copyright infringement lawsuit filed in the United States District Court for the Southern District of Texas (Case No. 4:23-cv-00728). After the defendants’ license agreements for the use of Ms. Collier’s copyrighted photographs expired in 2016, Ms. Collier discovered that Dr. Cash was still using her works in marketing materials, including dozens of social media posts that used Ms. Collier’s copyrighted photographs without permission.

Co-counsel Dale Quisenberry filed suit on Ms. Collier’s behalf in 2023, and he did an excellent job guiding the case through discovery and securing key summary judgment rulings.  Six weeks before the case was scheduled to be tried in April 2025, Beck Redden was retained to try the case on Ms. Collier’s behalf.  Due to the Court’s schedule and the defendants’ addition of new trial counsel, trial did not take place until February 2026.

Over the course of a three-day trial, partner Matthew Whitley and associate Cassie Maneen walked the jury through the expired licensing agreements, the communications between the parties, and more than 50 examples of the defendants’ willful copyright infringement.  Cassie Maneen delivered an outstanding performance by handling jury selection, examining multiple witnesses, and delivering the main closing argument.  Matthew Whitley gave the opening statement, cross-examined Dr. Cash, and gave the rebuttal closing.  The jury ultimately awarded $954,000 in damages for willful infringement of 18 copyrighted photographs, a far cry from the defendants’ assertion that damages should be no more than $54,000.

Parth Gejji and Anson Fung handled the jury charge and all post-trial briefing, including our request for attorney’s fees that the Court granted in full, thereby bringing the final judgment to more than $1.7M.  The case is now on appeal to the Fifth Circuit.

This result reinforces Beck Redden’s leadership in intellectual property litigation and the importance of risk assessment.  Considering the defendants never offered more than $350,000 to settle the case, our client was thrilled with this result.