Fresh Filings

Bobbcat Films, OWN Inc. and Shane Johnson have been hit with a copyright infringement lawsuit in Georgia Northern District Federal Court over the alleged unauthorized use of a screenplay titled The Christmas Bachelor. The suit, brought by the Law Office of Natalie K. Howard on behalf of writer Shemariah Deroux, claims that after entering into a screenplay shopping agreement with Johnson in February 2020, the defendants released A Christmas Fumble on OWN Network in 2022, which allegedly infringes on the plaintiff’s copyrighted work. The case is Deroux v. Bobbcat Films Inc., 1:25-cv-01566. … Sirius XM Satellite Radio has been sued for copyright infringement in New York Southern District Federal Court. The lawsuit was brought by Sanders Law Group on behalf of David Plastik, who contends that an image of Guns N’Roses singer Axl Rose was used without consent. The case is Plastik v. Sirius XM Radio Inc., 1:25-cv-02543. … Rock music photographer Bob Gruen sued CBS and Paramount Global for copyright infringement in New York Southern District Federal Court. The suit, brought by Doniger/Burroughs, accuses the defendants of publishing the plaintiff’s photograph of punk rock icon Sid Vicious on cbsnews.com and falsely attributing it to “AP Photo/File.” The case is Gruen v. CBS Interactive Inc., 1:25-cv-02514. … Padres L.P., owner of the Major League Baseball team the San Diego Padres, sued Old Republic Insurance in California Superior Court, San Diego County, in connection with a personal injury lawsuit stemming from an incident at Petco Park. The action, brought by attorney Jerome M. Jackson, challenges Old Republic’s refusal to indemnify the plaintiff. The case is Padres v. Old Republic Insurance Company. … Robert J. Alley was sued for copyright infringement in California Central District Federal Court over allegations of unauthorized recording and retention of content from the TV show High Dollar Hill. The suit, brought by the Law Office of Lawrence P. House on behalf of Get After It Media and music producer Keith Stegall, claims Alley, a former equipment provider, secretly recorded show content with a GoPro camera during the final filming day, refused to return the recordings and made violent threats. The suit seeks $5 million in damages. The case is Get After It Media Inc. v. Alley, 2:25-cv-02659. … JoongAng Ilbo, one of South Korea’s largest newspaper companies, was named in a breach-of-contract lawsuit from the Ladies Professional Golf Association (LPGA) in New York Southern District Federal Court. The action, brought by Skadden Arps, alleges that the defendant failed to honor its payment guaranty for JTBC Discovery’s broadcasting and tournament sponsorship obligations under agreements effective January 2021, resulting in the cancellation of the March 2025 championship and causing the LPGA to incur losses exceeding $1.5 million. Despite a final notice issued on Feb. 6 with a Feb. 14 payment deadline, the defendant allegedly failed to fulfill its guarantor obligations. The case is Ladies Professional Golf Association v. Joongang Ilbo Co Ltd., 1:25-cv-02493. … The Commonwealth of Pennsylvania sued StubHub in Pennsylvania Court of Common Pleas, Monroe County. The lawsuit, filed through the office of the Monroe County District Attorney, accuses the defendant of employing deceptive “dark patterns” and “drip pricing” tactics that obscure true ticket costs, including mandatory service fees of up to 66% of advertised prices. The complaint, encompassing a market in which 7.3 million fans attended Pennsylvania professional sports events in 2024, cites internal company testing that confirmed consumers were less likely to purchase tickets when full prices were displayed upfront. The case is Mancuso v. Stubhub Inc., 001970-CV-2025. … Endeavor Group Holdings, a holding company for major talent and media agencies, was named in an appraisal rights petition in Delaware Court of Chancery. The action, brought by Abrams & Bayliss on behalf of eight investment funds that together hold approximately 9.3 million shares of the defendant’s stock, follows a merger agreement that the plaintiffs allegedly did not consent to. The plaintiffs seek a declaration of their entitlement to appraisal of their shares of Class A Common Stock in Endeavor Group Holdings. The case is Fourworld Special Opportunities Fund LLC v. Endeavor Group Holdings Inc., 2025-0317. … Live Nation Entertainment was sued in New York Southern District Federal Court for failing to pay for Dave Chappelle merchandise. The action, brought by Knox Law Group on behalf of Golden Loop, seeks $590,000 for approximately 375,000 commemorative canvas tote bags delivered to various venues for distribution to ticket holders during Chappelle’s 2023 performances. The case is Golden Loop LLC v. Live Nation Entertainment Inc., 1:25-cv-02469. … Je’Caryous Johnson Entertainment and eight affiliated companies were sued for copyright infringement in Texas Southern District Federal Court over their unauthorized production and performance of Super Freak: The Rick James Story. The suit, brought by Altview Law Group on behalf of screenwriter Troy Byer, alleges the defendants have continued staging unauthorized performances of the work after receiving a cease-and-desist notice, and despite the plaintiff holding a registered copyright and that there is no documentation existing to transfer rights to the defendants. The case is Byer v. Johnson, 4:25-cv-01384. … Ye a/k/a Kanye West and the Yeezy record label were sued for copyright infringement in California Central District Federal Court. The lawsuit, brought by Grime Law on behalf of musician Alice Merton, Paper Plane Publishing GmbH and Merton & Grauwinkel GmbH, accuses Ye of the allegedly unauthorized use of a sample of Merton’s song “Blindside” on Ye’s 2024 track “Gun to My Head.” The case is Merton v. Ye, 2:25-cv-02615. … Two former Below Deck crew members sued NBC, Bravo, cast member Gary King and other defendants in California Superior Court, Los Angeles, over claims of sexual battery, gender violence, harassment and a hostile work environment. According to the complaint, King held one of the plaintiffs hostage in his hotel room while under the influence of alcohol while filming the fourth season of Below Deck Sailing Yacht. The plaintiffs are represented by Geragos & Geragos and Liner Freedman Taitelman + Cooley. The case is Suarez v. NBCUniversal Media LLC. … Loeb & Loeb filed a trademark infringement lawsuit in California Central District Federal Court on behalf of Leidseplein Presse B.V. centered on an upcoming tour by iconic hard rock band AC/DC. The suit targets bootleggers expected to sell counterfeit merchandise at the Rose Bowl Stadium in Pasadena for the band’s April 18 show. The case is Leidseplein Presse, B.V. v. Various John Does, 2:25-cv-02585. … Netflix was hit with a breach-of-contract lawsuit in California Superior Court, Los Angeles County. The court action, brought by Much Shelist on behalf of Blue Wizard Digital, seeks to recover $319,167 in Canadian dollars ($223,448) pursuant to a game license and publishing agreement. The case is Blue Wizard Digital v. Netflix Worldwide Entertainment. … Music group Limp Bizkit frontperson William Fredrick “Fred” Durst and Flawless Records sued Universal Music Group in California Superior Court, Los Angeles County, over a contract dispute. The suit, brought by Seddigh Arbetter, accuses the defendant of implementing royalty software and systems to systemically underpay royalties to artists, and seeks over $200 million in damages. The suit comes on the heels of a March 17 court order allowing the plaintiffs’ copyright claims to proceed in federal court while dismissing certain contract claims. The case is Durst v. Universal Music Group Inc., 25STCV08378. … Marquee Brands and Martha Stewart Living Omnimedia were sued in a declaratory judgment action in New York Southern District Federal Court. The lawsuit, filed by Quinn Emanuel Urquhart & Sullivan on behalf of Meredith Operations, the publisher of MarthaStewart.com, seeks to prevent the defendants from a bad-faith premature termination of their content licensing agreement set to expire later this year. The plaintiff affirms it has met the agreement’s requirement of 10 million monthly visitors, a precondition that would trigger an automatic renewal of the parties' agreement. The case is Meredith Operations Corp. v. Marquee Brands Intermediate Holdings II LLC, 1:25-cv-02387. … Fanatics, Major League Baseball, National Basketball Association, National Football League and other defendants were accused of monopolizing the trading card market for major professional sports leagues in a class action in New York Southern District Federal Court. The case, brought by the Radice Law Firm, cites long-term exclusive licensing agreements with sports leagues and players’ associations and Fanatic’s 2022 acquisition of Topps to demonstrate its domination of the market and disruption of the supply of trading card competitors like Panini. The case is Scaturo v. Fanatics Inc., 1:25-cv-02202. … Former football coach Jason Brown filed a $30 million lawsuit against Netflix, Condé Nast Entertainment and Greg Whiteley, the director of the Netflix show Last Chance U, in California Superior Court, Los Angeles County. The lawsuit, brought by attorney John Pierce Law, contends that Last Chance U portrayed Brown in a false and offensive light through selective editing and misrepresentation throughout the show. The case is Brown v. Netflix Inc. … AMC Networks was sued by burlesque performer Gin Minsky in New York Supreme Court, New York County, over alleged right-of-publicity violations. According to the complaint, the plaintiff was booked for a limited live performance, but the defendant distributed the performance via streaming, Blu-ray and DVD without permission. The suit was brought by attorney Alice M. Fisher. The case is Gin Minsky v. AMC Networks Inc. … Audible, the online audiobook and podcast service owned by Amazon, filed a patent lawsuit in New York Southern District Federal Court seeking a declaration of non-infringement. The lawsuit, brought by Knobbe, Martens, Olson & Bear, names Audio Pod IP, and disputes its assertions of patents related to systems and methods for rendering and transmitting digital content. The case is Audible Inc. v. Audio Pod IP LLC, 1:25-cv-02158. … Jackson Lewis filed a petition to compel arbitration in Florida Middle District Federal Court on behalf of All Elite Wrestling (AEW) and CEO Tony Khan. The suit, targeting former wrestler Ryan Nemeth, follows Nemeth’s Feb. 21 lawsuit in California Superior Court, Los Angeles County, alleging breach of contract, interference with prospective advantage and breach of good faith after Khan allegedly launched a “blackball” campaign against Nemeth to prevent him from working in the wrestling industry. The dispute stems from Nemeth’s independent contractor agreements with AEW, which contain binding arbitration clauses requiring disputes to be resolved in Duval County, Florida. The case is All Elite Wrestling LLC v. Nemeth, 3:25-cv-00282. … American heavy-metal band Metallica filed a trademark infringement lawsuit in Texas Western District Federal Court over the alleged sale of counterfeit goods. The suit, filed by Aronberg Goldgehn Davis & Garmisa, brings claims against unidentified online retailers for the advertisement and sale of products using counterfeit reproductions of the “Metallica Marks” without the plaintiff’s permission. The case is Metallica v. The Partnerships and Unincorporated Associations Identified on Schedule A, 6:25-cv-00089. … Kiari Cephus p/k/a Offset and Sallie Smith LLC sued collaborator/producer Chase Dalton Rose p/k/a CHASETHEMONEY for claims related to the song “Worth It” in California Central District Federal Court. The case, filed by Frost Brown Todd, contends that the parties agreed on the material terms of the producer agreement for the song. The plaintiff submits that three months later, the defendant proposed different terms, including a producer fee of more than five times the figure in the initial agreement, asserting that the manager who initially negotiated on his behalf lacked the authority to bind him. The plaintiff seeks a declaration affirming the validity and enforceability of the agreement. The case is Cephus v. Rose, 2:25-cv-02173. … The University of Southern California was sued by Sony Music for copyright infringement in New York Southern District Federal Court. The case, filed by Pryor Cashman on behalf of Sony Corporation of America and other plaintiffs, accuses the defendant of substantial unauthorized use of Sony Music’s sound recordings on various USC social media pages, contending that USC’s football program led the nation in digital engagement amassing nearly 21 million video views across social media platforms in September 2024 alone. The case is Sony Music Entertainment v. University of Southern California, 1:25-cv-02042. …Salt Lake City-based rock band Spirit Machines members Michael Collins and Sergio Marticorena were sued by bandmates Jessica McCombs p/k/a Pepper Rose and David Crespo over ownership rights to the band name and 33 original compositions in Utah District Federal Court. The suit, brought by Parr Brown Gee & Loveless, alleges that after Collins and Marticorena wrongfully expelled McCombs and Crespo in November 2024, the defendants seized control of the band’s social media accounts and website while making false ownership claims about trademarks and song authorship. The case is McCombs v. Collins, 2:25-cv-00185. … Award-winning funk artist and producer George Clinton filed a lawsuit in Florida Northern District Federal Court accusing Bridgeport Music, Westbound Records, Armen Boladian and other defendants of fraudulently obtaining the copyrights to 90% of Clinton’s catalog and denying him tens of millions of dollars in royalties. The lawsuit, brought by DiCello Levitt and Ben Crump Law, contends that the defendants engaged in a decades-long scheme to defraud the plaintiff by adding fictitious songwriters to songs to dilute his share of royalties, signing agreements on his behalf without his knowledge, failing to provide an accounting of royalties owed and suing artists that sample songs to which the defendants had fraudulently acquired the rights. The case is Clinton v. Boladian, 4:25-cv-00108.