Fresh Filings

Grammy-winning vocalist Gloria Gaynor, known for her late 1970s hit "I Will Survive," and composer Robin Randall filed a lawsuit in New York Southern District Federal Court claiming fraud and copyright infringement. The suit, filed by Drohan Lee LLP, takes aim at Joel Diamond Entertainment and other defendants for allegedly ignoring repeated requests for accounting information, suppressing royalties and concealing underlying licensing agreements regarding the plaintiffs' music. The suit also asserts that Joel Diamond has fraudulently claimed ownership of songs owned by Randall. The case is Gaynor v. Diamond, 1:24-cv-05690. … Orchestra 33 Entertainment has been hit with a copyright infringement lawsuit in Illinois Northern District Federal Court. The case, filed by Sanders Law Group on behalf of John Livzey, accuses the defendant of copying and displaying the plaintiff's photograph of musician Eddie Van Halen on its Facebook account without permission. The case is Livzey v. Orchestra 33 Entertainment Inc., 1:24-cv-06510. … Warner Bros. Discovery and Turner Broadcasting System (TBS) sued the National Basketball Association (NBA) and other defendants in New York Supreme Court, New York County, in relation to the NBA decision to sell a package of distribution rights to Amazon Prime Video. The lawsuit, filed by Weil, Gotshal & Manges, seeks to enforce TBS's contractual rights to distribute NBA games through the 2035-2036 season. The case is Turner Broadcasting System Inc. v. National Basketball Association, 653721/2024. … Public Broadcasting Systems (PBS), Midnight Films LLC and other defendants were hit with a copyright infringement lawsuit in New York Southern District Federal Court. The action was filed by Hoben Law on behalf of documentary filmmaker Circled Wagons Management d/b/a ABQ Raw. The lawsuit accuses the defendants of copying a portion of the plaintiff's film and using it in their own published media. The case is Circled Wagons Management LLC v. Public Broadcasting Systems, 1:24-cv-05611. … The Miami Dolphins, CONMEBOL, Concacaf and other defendants have been sued in a breach-of-contract class action in Florida Southern District Federal Court. The complaint, brought by Ayala Law, accuses the defendants of denying valid ticketholders access into Hard Rock Stadium for the Copa America USA 2024 final, Argentina v. Colombia, after a crowd of non-ticketed spectators rushed inside, bypassing security. The plaintiffs argue that the defendants were on notice because four days earlier there was a brawl at the close of the semi-final match. The case is Pou v. Miami Dolphins Ltd., 1:24-cv-22828. … Ivory Star Productions and John Bentham were hit with a breach-of-contract lawsuit Nevada District Court, Clark County. The lawsuit, brought by Larson & Zirzow on behalf of Red FML 76 LLC and RME X LLC, accuses the defendants of failing pay back loans intended to be used for their production of the Jersey Boys musical show. The case is Red Fml 76 LLC, v. Bentham, A-24-898137-C. … Cinespace Chicago Film Studios and other defendants have been sued in Illinois Circuit Court, Lake County. The action, filed by Holland & Knight on behalf of Konstantinos Mirkopoulos, accuses the defendants of failing to fully compensate the plaintiff pursuant to an employment contract, as well as fraudulently withholding his promised equity interest in Cinespace and related entities following the company's sale for more than $1 billion. The case is Mirkopoulos v Cinespace Chicago Film Studios, 2024LA00000530. … Warner Records Inc. has been sued for copyright infringement lawsuit in California Central District Federal Court. The court case was filed by Sanders Law Group on behalf of photographer Neil Zlozower, who accuses the defendant of using his photograph of the late Tom Petty on its social media platforms without authorization. The case is Zlozower v. Warner Records Inc., 2:24-cv-06158. … Chuck Black, Phase One Network and other defendants were hit with a copyright infringement lawsuit in Florida Middle District Federal Court. The court action, filed by 500Law on behalf of singer-songwriter Crystal Annette Bell, accuses the defendant of publishing the plaintiff's music on paid streaming applications without permission. The case is Bell v. Phase One Network Inc., 6:24-cv-01331. … Members of the band Shenandoah Andrew Ishee and Nicky Hines, as well as the band's former manager Stephen Edward Allen, were sued in Texas District Court, Tarrant County, over sexual assault claims. The court action was brought by Frost Brown Todd on behalf of several females who allege that Allen regularly solicits concertgoers to join the band in hotel rooms where they are sexually assaulted. The case is Smith v. Allen, 348-354629-24. … Rapper Soulja Boy, also known as Deandre Cortez Way, has filed a defamation lawsuit against Tasha Transrina Kebe and William the Baddest in California Superior Court, Los Angeles County. The court action, brought by attorney Jacque L. Shirley, accuses the defendants of making false statements that Soulja Boy and William were involved in a sexual relationship. The complaint also contends that the defendants created sexual pictures of the plaintiff using Photoshop and continued to harass him by publishing the statements and photographs on various social media platforms. The case is Way v. Kebe. … Calvin Broadus Jr. p/k/a Snoop Dogg, Death Row Records and Gala Music were sued for copyright infringement in California Central District Federal Court. The suit, brought by Johnson & Johnson on behalf of musician Trevor Lawrence Jr., accuses the defendants of using two backing tracks created by the plaintiff on Snoop Dog's BODR album and as part of a bundled offering known as a "stash box" without authorization. The case is Lawrence v. Broadus Jr., 2:24-cv-05947. … Verizon Communications and Verizon Services Corp. have been sued for copyright infringement in New York Southern District Federal Court. The action — brought by Oppenheim & Zebrak on behalf of Universal Music Group, Sony Corp. of America, Warner Music and other record labels — contends that Verizon has allowed tens of thousands of subscribers to use its services to illegally pirate the plaintiffs' copyrighted songs. The case is UMG Recordings Inc. v. Verizon Communications Inc., 1:24-cv-05285. … Greenspoon Marder filed a breach-of-contract lawsuit in New York Southern District Federal Court against shopping and social media platform Humans Inc. d/b/a FlipFit. The suit was filed on behalf of Celebrity Fund Management, which was commissioned to help the defendant partner with celebrities and social media influencers. The suit contends that the plaintiff is entitled to an equity position worth tens of millions of dollars in FlipFit in exchange for services rendered. The case is Celebrity Fund Management LLC v. Humans Inc., 1:24-cv-05282. … Disney Enterprises filed a lawsuit in Florida Middle District Federal Court targeting VPIHC Group d/b/a Disney Executive Bootcamp for alleged intellectual property infringement and cybersquatting. The lawsuit, filed by Holihan & Harchuck, targets VPIHC, which offers Spanish-language "Disney cultural immersion" customer-service training for the Latin American market, and other defendants for alleged trademark and copyright infringement in connection with offering business training seminars to "unsuspecting" customers. The suit also targets a former Disney World Resort employee and asserts that the defendants unlawfully operate the site CertificacionDisney.com. The case is Disney Enterprises Inc. v. VPIHC Group LLC, 6:24-cv-01260. … Twenty-First Century Fox has filed a copyright and trademark infringement lawsuit against JMC Pop Ups LLC and its operators Joseph Mccullough and Samantha Shutter in Pennsylvania Eastern District Federal Court. The court action, filed by Ballard Spahr, alleges that the defendants own and operate a restaurant that is a reproduction of Moe's Tavern from TV series The Simpsons. The suit further accuses the defendants of selling infringing merchandise and cyber-squatting on three website domain names pertaining to Moe's Tavern. The case is Twentieth Century Fox Film Corp. v. JMC Pop Ups LLC, 2:24-cv-03021. … Mercis B.V., an Amsterdam-based entertainment company, has filed a trademark infringement lawsuit in Illinois Northern District Federal Court over the alleged sale of counterfeit goods. The suit, filed by Hughes Socol Piers Resnick & Dym, pursues claims against unidentified online retailers over the allegedly unauthorized sale of merchandise featuring the children's entertainment character Miffy. The case is Mercis B.V. v. The Individuals, Corporations, Limited Liability Companies, Partnerships and Unincorporated Associations Identified on Schedule A Hereto, 1:24-cv-05853. … The Beastie Boys has sued Brinker International, the parent company of the restaurant chain Chili's, for copyright infringement in New York Southern District Federal Court. The case, filed by Rimon PC, concerns a Chili's commercial in which the plaintiff accuses the defendant of using the sound recording, musical composition and music video for Beastie Boys' "Sabotage" without permission. The plaintiff contends that, like their Spike Jonze-directed "Sabotage" music video, in the Chili's commercial the three characters wear obvious 70's-style garb and are shown stealing ingredients from a Chili's restaurant intercut with fictitious opening credits. The case is Beastie Boys v. Brinker International Inc., 1:24-cv-05221.