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Arbitration Clause in Prior Dispute Settlement Doesn't Apply to Cheaters Uncensored Current Copyright Dispute

The U.S. District Court for the Northern District of Texas, Dallas Division, denied a motion to compel arbitration of a copyright infringement lawsuit over rights to the reality TV program Cheaters Uncensored. Bobby Goldstein Productions Inc. (BGP) v. Habeeb, 3:21-CV-1924. Bobby Goldstein created the TV show Cheaters and formed the production company BGP. Tommy Habeeb, who Goldstein collaborated with, later sued Goldstein himself in Texas state court over ownership rights to Cheaters. A 2005 settlement of the suit gave Habeeb "the exclusive right to approach potential pay-per-view and premium channel outlets and negotiate the terms of any agreement to broadcast Cheaters Uncensored" but deemed Goldstein "owner of all copyright in any and all footage of Cheaters that will be the basis for Cheaters Uncensored and will own the copyright in all episodes of Cheaters Uncensored." In 2021, BGP sued Habeeb, alleging Habeeb didn't have a "license to make copies of the Episodes on the Internet or to make the Episodes and/or derivative works thereof available for performance or display by the public on the Internet." Habeeb moved for arbitration of the copyright dispute under the 2005 settlement. First, Senior Northern District Judge A. Joe Fish agreed with BGP that the settlement agreement "resolved a lawsuit between Mr. Habeeb and Mr. Goldstein. BGP was neither a party to the lawsuit nor a signatory to the settlement agreement; indeed, the terms of the settlement agreement do not even mention BGP, and there is no evidence that the parties intended the settlement agreement to apply to BGP." And even if it did, Senior District Judge Fish found: "The court agrees with BGP that the '[d]efendants make no attempt to provide any argument — much less evidence — to demonstrate that their infringing internet-based copyright violations relate to negotiations with any pay-per-view or premium channel outlet."