Fresh Filings

Tyler Perry, Tyler Perry Studios and other defendants have been hit with a $10 million lawsuit in California Superior Court, Los Angeles County. The court action, filed by attorneys Rodrick J. Lindblom and Robert R. Parker Jr. on behalf of singer/songwriter Marva King, accuses Perry of using her stage play to form the motion picture Diary of a Mad Black Woman without authorization. The suit further contends that the plaintiff did not authorize Perry to use her image, likeness or voice for commercial purposes. The complaint also targets distributors of the film, including Roku and Amazon Prime. The case is King v. Perry. … A concert attendee sued Live Nation Entertainment and other defendants in Pennsylvania Court of Common Pleas, Philadelphia County. The lawsuit was brought by Saltz Mongeluzzi & Bendesky on behalf of a plaintiff who contends she was slammed to the ground and injured by out-of-control patrons at a September 2024 Alice Cooper concert. The suit claims the defendants’ security guards and personnel failed to intervene and break up the dangerous behavior. The case is Ferge v. Live Nation Entertainment Inc., 241202686. … Creators of the Hawk Tuah cryptocurrency meme coin, which surged to nearly $500 million in value before plummeting by over 90%, were hit with a securities class action in New York Eastern District Federal Court. The lawsuit takes aim at social media personality Haliey Welch’s Tuah the Moon Foundation and other defendants for allegedly promoting the “$HAWK” token without registering the asset with the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission. The suit was brought by Wolf Popper and Burwick Law. The case is Mena v. Schultz, 1:24-cv-08695. … Live Nation Entertainment was sued in Texas District Court, Travis County, for claims pertaining to assault or battery. The court action was brought by Massingill Attorneys & Counselors at Law on behalf of Brittany Weidlich, who contends that her minor child was physically assaulted by a security officer at the Austin City Limits Musical Festival. The case is Weidlich v. Live Nation Entertainment Inc., D-1-GN-24-010060. … NorthStar Source Group (d/b/a the Source) and Source Digital, a hip-hop and entertainment website, have been hit with a breach-of-contract and copyright infringement lawsuit in New York Southern District Federal Court. The lawsuit, filed by Garson, Ségal, Steinmetz, Fladgate on behalf of photographer Ernest Paniccioli, accuses the defendant of publishing 10 of the plaintiff’s photos on social media in breach of multiple agreements between the parties governing their use and without compensating the plaintiff at least $180,500. The case is Paniccioli v. Source Digital Inc., 1:24-cv-09763. … YouTube filed a breach-of-contract lawsuit against Ganjingworld Corp. in California Superior Court, Santa Clara County. The court action, brought by Wilson Sonsini Goodrich & Rosati, accuses the defendant of violating YouTube’s terms of service agreement by creating and operating an imitation online video service. The suit further contends that the defendant misappropriated content from YouTube to generate advertising revenue. The case is YouTube LLC v. Ganjingworld Corp. … Play Today Pty Ltd., which offers virtual golf-based metaverses and other digital products, was sued for breach of contract in New York Supreme Court, New York County. The suit, brought by the Law Office of Ariel Berschadsky on behalf of sports and entertainment licensing company ABG-Shark, accuses the defendant of failing to pay licensing fees for use of the image, likeness, voice and persona of hall of fame golfer Greg “The Shark” Norman. The case is ABG-Shark LLC v. Play Today Pty Ltd. … Empire Records sued Irvin Whitlow and Out of Service in California Northern District Federal Court alleging fraud and breach of contract. The lawsuit, brought by Phillips Erlewine Given & Carlin and Reitler Kailas & Rosenblatt, accuses Whitlow, the manager of rapper Jalen Santoy, of inducing the plaintiff to enter into a contract to purchase Santoy’s master recordings by misrepresenting Out of Service’s ownership of the music, knowing that Santoy was the true owner. The case is Empire Distribution Inc. v. Out Of Service Inc., 3:24-cv-09096. … Romania-headquartered bookseller Global Brother SRL filed a lawsuit alleging intellectual property infringement in Florida Middle District Federal Court. The lawsuit, filed by the DeFrancesco Law Firm, takes aim at Shixiaolong over claims of copyright, trademark and trade dress infringement in connection with the alleged sale of “knock-off” versions of texts entitled The Holistic Guide to Wellness and Forgotten Home Apothecary. The case is Global Brother SRL v. Shixiaolong, 8:24-cv-02903. … Epic Games, the gaming company known for Fortnite and other popular titles, sued Sebastian Araujo for copyright infringement and breach of contract in California Central District Federal Court. The court action, filed by Perkins Coie, submits that the defendant was banned from the plaintiff’s platform for using cheat software in violation of the Fortnite end-user license agreement. The plaintiff claims the defendant is still using the platform and does so by disguising himself with fake accounts and hardware spoofers that alter his device’s serial numbers, and by making unauthorized and infringing copies of the software code while using the cheat software. According to the complaint, the defendant has won cash prizes for winning tournaments at the expense of non-cheating players. The case is Epic Games Inc. v. Araujo, 2:24-cv-10835. … 20th Century Studios was sued for copyright infringement in California Central District Federal Court centered on the film The Kingdom of the Planet of the Apes. The court action was brought by the MacArthur Law Firm on behalf of Isaac Yeram Kim, who contends that a scene in the film uses an “almost identical” copy of his digital painting “Abandoned Satellite Field” as a backdrop. The case is Kim v. 20th Century Studios Inc., 2:24-cv-10820. … Roblox, Epic Games, Microsoft, Nintendo and other defendants were hit with a product liability lawsuit in California Superior Court, Alameda County. The suit, filed by Gomez Trial Attorneys and Hair Shunnarah Trial Attorneys, is part of a string of cases filed on behalf of minors who allegedly developed video game addiction or “Internet game disorder.” The suits contend that video game companies use feedback loops, reward systems and in-game “microtransactions” to ensure that users keep playing longer and spend more money. The case is Black, As Guardian Ad Litem And On Behalf Of AG A Minor v. Roblox Corp., 24CV103034. … Zuffa International d/b/a Ultimate Fighting Championship (UFC) has sued Skillz, a gaming and esports platform, for breach of contract in Nevada District Court, Clark County. The lawsuit, brought by Campbell & Williams, arises from a licensing agreement by which Skillz agreed to pay the plaintiff royalties for a license to use certain UFC trademarks, logos and intellectual property to develop and monetize UFC-branded mobile games. The plaintiff argues that the defendant has failed to pay more than $1.2 million. The case is Zuffa International LLC v. Skillz Inc., A-24-908001-B. … Nintendo was hit with a digital privacy lawsuit in California Superior Court, Los Angeles County. The suit, brought by Brodsky Smith LLC on behalf of Alondra Gutierrez, 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 Gutierrez v. Nintendo of America Inc. … Singer, producer and composer Azam Aliafgerad (p/k/a Azam Ali) filed a breach-of-contract lawsuit in California Central District Federal Court. The case, filed by Gipson Hoffman & Pancione targeting the plaintiff’s long-time collaborator Tyler Bates, charges the defendant with creating a digital replica of the plaintiff’s voice without a license or authorization. The case is Aliafgerad v. Bates, 2:24-cv-10721. … FuboTV, a streaming platform which distributes live sports and other programming, was hit with a digital privacy class action in Illinois Circuit Court, DuPage County. The suit, brought by McGuire Law, accuses the defendant of using third-party tracking pixels to collect and share website visitors’ personally identifiable information without consent in violation of the Video Privacy Protection Act. The case is Brudette v. FuboTV Inc., 2024LA001460. … HBO and Cooler Waters Productions were hit with an employment class action in California Superior Court, Los Angeles County. The complaint, filed by Harris & Ruble, accuses the defendants of failing to pay minimum wages, provide rest breaks and reimburse business expenses. The case is O’Cain v. Cooler Waters Productions. … Caltex Music, which owns a portfolio of musical compositions and sound recordings featuring Persian songwriters and recording artists, sued Pars Video USA and Lyra Entertainment for copyright infringement and conversion in California Central District Federal Court. The suit, brought by Davis Wright Tremaine, accuses the defendants of creating unauthorized copies of the plaintiff’s works and submitting false DMCA takedown notices to YouTube, Spotify and other platforms. The case is Caltex Music LLC v. Pars Video USA Inc., 2:24-cv-10632. … Controversial filmmaker Woody Allen, Soon-Yi Previn, his wife and adopted daughter of Mia Farrow, and their private home manager Pamela Steigmeyer have been sued in New York Southern District Federal Court by their former personal chef for alleged wrongful termination. The court action, filed by Joseph & Norinsberg, contends that the chef was fired due to his status as an active member of the Army Reserve and because he had raised concerns about unpaid wages. The suit asserts violations of the Uniformed Services Employment Reemployment Act and the New York Wage Theft Prevention Act. The case is Fajardo v. Allen, 1:24-cv-09410. … The U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission sued Xtreme Fighting Championships Inc. and its CEO Steve A. Smith Jr. in Florida Southern District Federal Court over alleged violations of federal securities laws. The court action accuses Smith of engaging in a fraudulent scheme to sell large amounts of unregistered Xtreme Fighting stock to investors. The suit claims that the scheme generated approximately $5 million. The case is Securities and Exchange Commission v. Smith, 1:24-cv-24802. … Sega was named in a copyright infringement lawsuit in California Southern District Federal Court. The case, filed by Powers Law PC on behalf of musician John Gioeli, accuses the defendant of openly claiming ownership of the plaintiff’s sound recording and musical composition of “Live and Learn” that was written for the defendant’s video game Sonic Adventure 2. The complaint asserts that the music was used without permission by the defendant for least 25 video games as well as TV shows, live performances and events, films and licenses to third parties including Nintendo. The case is Gioeli v. Sega of America Inc., 3:24-cv-02276. … Online ticket marketplaces StubHub and Viagogo were hit with a privacy lawsuit in California Superior Court, Los Angeles County. The lawsuit was filed by Johnson & Johnson on behalf of Michelle Tyler a/k/a Michelle Weitz, the lead singer of “Mirage — Visions of Fleetwood Mac,” a Fleetwood Mac tribute band. The complaint claims the defendants published the plaintiff’s photo on their websites in connection with Fleetwood Mac and Fleetwood Mac Tribute bands as well as other musical groups. The case is Tyler v. Stubhub Inc., 24STCV32158. … Goldove Entertainment sued Wild About Movies and Timothy Nasson for $4 million in California Superior Court, Los Angeles County. The lawsuit, brought by Genga & Associates, seeks to recover millions of dollars in damages from the defendants in relation to the distribution of the plaintiff’s theatrical motion picture Lumina. According to the complaint, the defendants distributed the film in fewer theaters and for fewer days than promised. The case is Goldove Entertainment v. Wild About Movies, 24STCV32158.