Fresh Filings

Warner Bros. Discovery, CEO David M. Zaslav and CFO Gunnar Wiedenfels have been sued in a securities class action filed in New York Southern District Federal Court. The suit, filed by Pomerantz LLP, contends that the defendants failed to disclose that the company’s goodwill in its networks segment had significantly deteriorated due to the difference between its market capitalization and book value, continued softness in certain U.S. advertising markets and uncertainty related to affiliate and sports rights renewals, including with the National Basketball Association. The case is Collura v. Warner Bros. Discovery Inc., 1:24-cv-09027. … EZ Festivals, Avant Gardner LLC and other defendants were hit with a personal injury lawsuit in New York Supreme Court, New York County. The suit, brought by Grauman Law on behalf of James Power and Kimberly Power, alleges that James fell and collided with a metal barricade while being forcibly removed from Electric Zoo, an electronic dance music festival. According to the complaint, he was asked by two security guards to leave for dancing aggressively, but he refused because he was only dancing with his wife Kimberly. The case is Power v. Avant Gardner LLC. … Candi Carter, an Emmy Award-winning broadcast executive and talk show producer, and other defendants were sued in a trade secrets lawsuit filed in New York Southern District Federal Court. The suit was brought by Weinstein + Klein and Thomas H. Herndon, Jr., Law PLLC on behalf of e-commerce and marketing company Knocking Inc., where Carter formerly served as Chief Content Officer. According to the complaint, Carter allegedly misappropriated trade secrets and confidential information to form competitor Cistus Media and pitched business to Black Entertainment Television. The case is Knocking Inc. v. Carter, 1:24-cv-09020. … Snoop Dogg, Ice Cube, Mount Westmore LLC and other defendants have been sued in California Superior Court, Los Angeles County, for alleged breaches of a written merchandising agreement whereby the plaintiff had the exclusive rights to sell Mount Westmore merchandise in exchange for the payment of certain advances and royalties to the defendants. According to the complaint, Mount Westmore performed only three of the 60 concerts promised. The plaintiff further contends that Snoop Dogg and Ice Cube failed to make required promotional videos. The suit, which seeks $1.37 million, was brought by Kibler Fowler & Cave on behalf of Westside Merchandising. The case is Westside Merchandising LLC v Mount Westmore LLC, 24STCV30377. … Musical artist Lynn Lockamy has sued Tribe Records UK, Universal Music Publishing and other defendants for copyright infringement in New York Southern District Federal Court. The suit, brought by Izower Lefton LLP, accuses the defendants of using the plaintiff’s demo tracks to remix and release various songs, one of which was later remixed by Belters Only into the 2021 hit “Make Me Feel Good.” The complaint also seeks an accounting of royalties and other profits. The case is Lockamy v. Tribe Records Limited a/k/a Tribe Records UK, 1:24-cv-08933. … Fokus Industries was hit with a copyright infringement lawsuit in Washington Western District Federal Court centered on the song “Space Jam” from the hit 1996 film of the same name featuring Lemonhead and 69 Boyz. The court case was brought by Sanders Law Group on behalf of Quadrasound Music, which contends that the defendant posted a “discernable portion” of the song on social media without consent. The case is Watson Music Group LLC. v. Fokus Industries LLC, 2:24-cv-01924. … Sirius XM Radio was hit with a telemarketing class action in Utah District Federal Court. The complaint, brought by LawHQ, accuses the defendant of contacting numbers on the National Do Not Call Registry in violation of the Telephone Consumer Protect Act. The case is McTee v. Sirius XM Radio Inc., 1:24-cv-00191. … FanDuel has been sued in a privacy class action in California Superior Court, Los Angeles County. The lawsuit, brought by the Law Offices of Todd M. Friedman, is part of a wave of cases accusing companies of violating California’s Invasion of Privacy Act by using third-party “trap and trace” software to compile data on anonymous website visitors. According to the suit, the software matches a website user’s geolocation, device information and other data with existing third-party data to reconstruct the user’s identity for marketing purposes without consent. The case is Rodriguez v. Fanduel Inc. … Netflix has been sued in a consumer class action in Florida Circuit Court, Hillsborough County, centered on the Nov. 15 fight between Mike Tyson and Jake Paul. The suit, brought by the Consumer Protection Firm, argues that the streaming quality of the live event was poor, with “unrelenting buffering” and other technical issues that prevented viewers from seeing the event in its entirety. The case is Denton v. Netflix Inc., 24-CA-009170. … Meta Platforms and Netflix were hit with an antitrust class action in Illinois Northern District Federal Court. The court action arises from Meta’s de-funding of its competing video-streaming platform, Watch. According to the complaint, Meta entered into an anti-competitive agreement with Netflix in 2018 to refrain from direct competition in the streaming-video market in exchange for Netflix’s subscriber data. The lawsuit was filed by Wexler Boley & Elgersma, Taus, Cebulash & Landau and Gustafson Gluek. The case is Bracamontes v. Meta Platforms Inc., 1:24-cv-11839. … Stream Il Communications Ltd. and United Kingdom Film Distribution (1990) Ltd. filed a copyright infringement lawsuit in Florida Middle District Federal Court. The court action, which targets Moonpay USA, accuses the defendant of facilitating anonymous operators in the misappropriation and unauthorized distribution of the plaintiffs’ content. The suit was filed by Locke Lord. The case is United Kingdom Film Distribution (1990) Ltd. v. Moonpay USA LLC, 8:24-cv-02668. … CCA and B, a company founded by publishers of the children’s book The Elf on the Shelf: A Christmas Tradition, filed a lawsuit in Ohio Northern District Federal Court centered on the sale of plush dolls. The court action, brought by Renner Otto, accuses Elena Jenkins a/k/a Elena Popova of selling Elf dolls that infringe the plaintiff’s “The Elf on The Shelf” trademark and the plaintiff’s copyrighted work. The case is Cca and B LLC v. Jenkins, 1:24-cv-02004. … Niantic, the maker of Pokémon Go and other augmented reality games, has been sued for patent infringement lawsuit in Delaware District Federal Court. The suit, brought by Greenberg Traurig on behalf of Imagine AR, asserts seven patents related to enabling gameplay with a character in a game environment on a mobile device. The case is Imaginear Inc. v. Niantic Inc., 1:24-cv-01252. … Showtime Networks, Lions Gate Entertainment and Lockjaw LLC have been sued for copyright infringement in California Central District Federal Court. The court case, filed by Anya Fuchs LLC on behalf of Eden Film Production, claims that the defendants’ film Yellowjackets “borrowed heavily” from the plaintiff’s film, Eden without authorization. Eden is billed as a survival drama/thriller about the U.S. men’s soccer team crashing on a deserted island after a World Cup match. The defendants’ film is a survival drama/thriller about a women’s soccer team that crashes in deserted wilderness before a high school national championship game. The case is Eden Film Production LLC v. Lockjaw LLC, 2:24-cv-09851. …Netflix, basketball player Lebron James, director Brit Hensel and other defendants were named in a copyright infringement lawsuit in California Central District Federal Court. The lawsuit, filed by Early Sullivan Wright Gizer & McRae LLP on behalf of Paradise Valley Pictures and writer Rob Grabow, alleges that the defendants’ movie Rez Ball copies the plaintiff’s The Gift of the Game script. The suit further accuses Hensel of breaching a non-disclosure agreement by disclosing information regarding the plaintiff’s script. The case is Grabow v. Netflix Inc., 2:24-cv-09822. … Mega Millions Music sued American rapper Yeat a/k/a Noah Oliver Smith and other defendants in Georgia Northern District Federal Court for alleged violations of a recording agreement. The suit, brought by Fox Rothschild and the Law Office of Joseph Adeife, contends that Smith breached his agreement with the plaintiff by releasing music with another record label. The case is Mega Millions Music LLC v. Smith, 1:24-cv-05175. … Peanuts Worldwide filed a trademark and copyright infringement lawsuit in Illinois Northern District Federal Court over the alleged sale of counterfeit goods associated with Snoopy and other characters of the Peanuts comic strip by Charles M. Schulz. The suit, filed by Greer, Burns & Crain, pursues claims against unidentified online retailers. The case is Peanuts Worldwide LLC v. The Partnerships and Unincorporated Associations Identified on Schedule A, 1:24-cv-11684. … Kanye West, Ty Dolla $ign, Warner/Chappell Music and other defendants were slapped with a copyright infringement lawsuit in Tennessee Western District Federal Court centered on the song “F Summ” from the rap album Vultures 1. The court case was filed by attorney Bradley J. Eiseman on behalf of Criminal Manne, DJ Squeeky and other Memphis-based rap artists who assert that the defendants’ song is “riddled” with unlicensed samples from the plaintiffs’ song “Drink a Yak (Part 2).” The case is Watkins v. West, 2:24-cv-02880. … Universal Music Group, Sony Music Publishing and other defendants have been sued for copyright infringement in California Central District Federal Court. The suit was filed by Barbara Potter, an heir to 1/6th of the estate of Clarence Otto Pauling p/k/a Clarence Paul, a Motown producer and songwriter who wrote over 200 songs including co-writing Stevie Wonder’s first hit song “Fingertips.” The complaint brings charges of copyright infringement, failure to pay royalties, breach of contract, financial elder abuse and for an accounting and. The suit was brought by the Kizzie Firm. The case is Potter v. Sony Music Publishing (US) LLC, 2:24-cv-09778. … Media personality Caitlyn Jenner and her manager Sophia Hutchins have been hit with a securities class action in California Central District Federal Court. The court action, brought by Fitzgerald Joseph LLP, accuses the defendants of offering and selling unregistered securities in the form of the cryptocurrency “$JENNER.” The suit further classifies “$JENNER” as a meme coin, a digital currency inspired by popular culture with little functional value, and alleges the defendants failed to file registration statements with the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission before soliciting investors. The case is Azad v. Jenner, 2:24-cv-09768. … Dick Clark Productions sued Affinity Nightlife and Adam Glovsky for trademark infringement and dilution in California Central District Federal Court. The suit, brought by DTO Law, accuses the defendants of misappropriating the plaintiff’s “American Music Awards” mark to promote an unaffiliated after-party celebrating the 50th anniversary of the awards. The case is Dick Clark Productions LLC v. Affinity Nightlife LLC, 2:24-cv-09753. … Amazon Studios has been sued by film and TV composer Alan Lazar for breach of contract and copyright infringement in California Central District Federal Court. The suit, filed by Lavely & Singer, accuses Amazon’s predecessor Evolution Media of failing to compensate the plaintiff for his creation of the title theme for the series The Real Housewives of Beverly Hills. The complaint further accuses the defendant of failing to pay foreign broadcast and streaming mechanical royalties for music cues used in the series and other Real Housewives programs. The case is Lazar v. Amazon Studios LLC, 2:24-cv-09748. … Latin American Music Co. was sued for copyright infringement in Puerto Rico District Federal Court. The suit was filed by attorney Patricia Rivera MacMurray on behalf of Roy Brown, a Puerto Rican musician and composer. The plaintiff argues that the defendant illegally registered a number of his works with the Music Licensing Collective claiming ownership and collecting royalties. The case is Brown v. Latin American Music Co. Inc., 3:24-cv-01523. … Book publisher Third World Press Foundation was hit with a copyright infringement lawsuit in Colorado District Federal Court. The court case was filed by StudioIP Law on behalf of author Edward Dwight, who contends that his work Soaring on the Wings of a Dream: The Untold Story of America’s First Black Astronaut, was copied and distributed without his consent. The case is Dwight v. Third World Press Foundation Inc., 1:24-cv-03104. … Sony Pictures Television, Jeopardy Productions and Califon Productions sued CBS Studios in California Superior Court, Los Angeles County, in connection with the television shows Jeopardy! and Wheel of Fortune. The complaint accuses CBS of failing to use best efforts to license the shows to local television stations and maximize revenue from national advertising. According to the suit, CBS licensed the shows at below-market rates, prioritized its own wholly owned shows for premium placements and harmed advertising sales by abandoning its partnership with ratings provider Nielsen. The complaint was filed by Susman Godfrey. The case is Sony Pictures Television Inc v. CBS Studios Inc.

— This column was curated using Law.com Radar.