Fresh Filings

A former supervising producer for the VH1 series Love & Hip Hop: Miami sued Paramount Global, Viacom and other defendants in Florida Circuit Court, Miami-Dade County, for alleged employment discrimination. The lawsuit, brought by Derek Smith Law Group, alleges that the plaintiff was subjected to sexual harassment and unlawfully terminated in retaliation for her complaints of unlawful conduct and disregard for cast members’ boundaries on the set as part of her role as an intimacy coordinator. The case is Mosley v. Sun Mia LLC. … Paulynne Inc., which owns the late commentator Paul Harvey’s The Rest of the Story radio series, has sued Paramount Global for copyright infringement in New York Southern District Federal Court over the alleged unauthorized use and editing of an audio clip of Harvey. According to the complaint, the 90-second clip appeared in the opening of the Jan. 12, 2025, season finale of the top Paramount show Landman. Jaime Wolf, partner at Pelosi Wolf Spates LLP and Paulynne’s lead attorney, claims: “Paramount not only grabbed a long, copyrighted audio clip without our client’s permission, but they also twisted the intent of Mr. Harvey’s words by editing his original broadcast.” According to the law firm, “the Landman episode strategically omits Paul Harvey’s endorsement of alternative fuels. In doing so it engages in what the LA Times’ climate columnist and others have called the [Paramount] show’s consistent “fossil fuel propaganda.” “The producers had no right to falsify the late Mr. Harvey’s message and turn him into an unwitting shill for big oil,” Wolf says. The case is Paulynne Inc. v. Paramount Global 1:25-cv-05206. … Queens Film Festival has been sued for trademark infringement in New York Eastern District Federal Court. The complaint, filed by Venable on behalf of Queens World Film Festival and Queens World Film Initiative, accuses the defendant of creating marketplace confusion by establishing a competing festival in 2024, making false claims about being the first Queens film festival and wrongfully registering multiple infringing domain names. The case is Queens World Film Festival Inc. v. Queens Film Festival Inc., 1:25-cv-03568. … UMG Recordings was sued for breach of contract in California Central District Federal Court over royalty payments related to the song “Dale Don Dale” by Don Omar. The action, brought by Freundlich Law on behalf of a music-rights holder, claims the defendant applied incorrect royalty rates, failed to provide required monthly accountings and made improper deductions from foreign affiliate revenues since a 2005 distribution agreement. According to the complaint, UMG wrongfully paid 1.33% instead of the contracted 70% of net proceeds and improperly asserted rights over digital sound recording royalties. The case is Crescioni v. UMG Recordings Inc., 2:25-cv-05756. … DreamWorks Animation filed a trademark and copyright infringement lawsuit in Illinois Northern District Federal Court over the alleged sale of counterfeit merchandise related to the film franchises Shrek, Trolls and How to Train Your Dragon. The court action, brought by Greer, Burns & Crain, accuses e-commerce operators of selling unauthorized products while using offshore accounts to evade detection. The case is Dreamworks Animation LLC v. The Partnerships and Unincorporated Associations Identified on Schedule A, 1:25-cv-07000. … O2 Holdings and its managing member Michael Olander Jr. were hit with a copyright infringement lawsuit in North Carolina Eastern District Federal Court over the unauthorized public performance of musical compositions at 15 O2 Fitness locations across North Carolina. The action, brought by Carruthers & Roth on behalf of multiple music publishers and composers who are members of ASCAP, alleges the defendants continued playing copyrighted music after their ASCAP license agreement was terminated in December 2018 for non-payment. The plaintiffs are seeking statutory damages between $750 and $30,000 per infringement, plus attorney fees. The case is Greenfund v. O2 Holdings LLC, 5:25-cv-00356. … The Mundial Group, a branding and sponsorship company specializing in soccer, sued Mundial Media for trademark infringement in New York Southern District Federal Court. The suit, brought by Leech Tishman Robinson Brog, seeks to enjoin the defendant from offering competing services under the “Mundial” mark. The case is The Mundial Group Inc. v. Mundial Media Inc., 1:25-cv-05222. … Genesis Health Clubs Management has been sued for copyright infringement in Florida Middle District Federal Court. The complaint, filed by Bishop & Page on behalf of BMG Rights Management and other music publishers, accuses the defendant of the unauthorized public performance of the plaintiffs’ musical compositions. The case is BMG Rights Management (US) LLC d/b/a BMG Gold Songs v. Genesis Health Clubs Management Inc., 6:25-cv-01115. … Ubisoft was hit with a consumer class action in California Superior Court, Sacramento County, over the March 2024 shutdown of servers for the video game The Crew. The suit, brought by Bursor & Fisher on behalf of an estimated 12 million players, alleges that the defendant violated consumer protection laws and committed fraud by completely disabling access to the game despite players having purchased physical copies with promised single-player functionality through 2099. According to the complaint, which seeks restitution and the restoration of offline access, Ubisoft departed from industry standard practices by failing to provide an offline patch while also refusing to refund unredeemed virtual currency. The case is Cassell v. Ubisoft Inc., 25CV014305. … Monumental Sports & Entertainment is being sued in District of Columbia Superior Court for alleged breach of employment contract and defamation. The lawsuit was brought by Charlson Bredehoft Cohen Brown & Nadelhaft on behalf of Leon Stacey, a former employee of over 10 years who contends the defendant violated a non-disparagement agreement by making false statements about him to individuals associated with an NFL team that had extended a formal job offer to him. The case is Stacey v. Lincoln Holdings LLC d/b/a Monumental Sports & Entertainment, 2025-CAB-003919. … Terrance Dixon (a/k/a TA) sued rapper Joseph Cartagena (a/k/a Fat Joe) and multiple co-defendants including the Live Nation Entertainment-owned and Jay-Z-founded Roc Nation in New York Southern District Federal Court. The lawsuit was brought by T. A. Blackburn Law on behalf of Dixon, described as Fat Joe’s former “hype man.” Dixon claims he worked closely with Fat Joe for over 16 years as a creative partner, performer and assistant, but was systematically denied credit, compensation and royalties. According to the complaint, the defendants forced sex acts, engaged in sex trafficking and used surveillance and threats to silence the plaintiff. The lawsuit charges the defendants with the use of shell companies for tax evasion, payroll fraud and laundering money. Dixon says big names like Roc Nation helped cover it up. The case is Dixon v. Cartagena, 1:25-cv-05144. … Simon & Schuster, Jeff Bezos’ new wife — the journalist and pilot Lauren Sanchez — and The Collective Book Studio have been sued in California Central District Federal Court. The lawsuit, filed by Mangum Ririe on behalf Alanna Zabel and her company AZ I AM, pertains to the defendant’s children’s book The Fly Who Flew to Space. The complaint asserts appropriation of substantial content from the plaintiff’s book Dharma Kitty Goes to Mars, including significant elements such as its plot, characters and scenes. According to Zabel, confidential material protected by a non-disclosure agreement was shared during business discussions between the parties. The case is Zabel v. Sanchez, 2:25-cv-05558. … Featherstone Entertainment, producer of the web series Situationships and related media, has sued musical artist Clifford Joseph Harris Jr. (a/k/a T.I.), Grant Hustle Films and other defendants for trademark infringement in New York Southern District Federal Court. The suit, brought by Destime Law, seeks to enjoin the defendants from creating and distributing a film using the “Situationships” mark. The case is Featherstone Entertainment, LLC v. Grand Hustle Films LLC, 1:25-cv-05124. … Diamond Films Netherlands sued Netflix in New York Supreme Court, New York County, seeking turnover of approximately $600,000 in restrained funds owed to TV Azteca. The action, brought by Olshan Frome Wolosky, stems from an unpaid $29 million judgment against TV Azteca from June 2022, which the judgment debtor allegedly continuously attempted to evade despite multiple failed court challenges. The case is Diamond Films Netherlands Cooperatief U.A. v. Netflix Inc. … Singer-songwriter Robin Thicke was hit with a copyright infringement lawsuit in California Central District Federal Court over his allegedly unauthorized use of celebrity photographs on Instagram. The action, brought by One LLP on behalf of BackGrid USA, accuses the “Blurred Lines” artist of reproducing and displaying at least two copyrighted photographs on his Instagram account, which has 792,000 followers, without permission. The case is BackGrid USA Inc. v. Thicke, 2:25-cv-05460. … Ticketmaster and Live Nation Entertainment were sued in California Superior Court, Contra Costa County, over unauthorized ticket transfers and data security failures. The complaint, brought by attorney Jerron N. Harding, alleges that after the defendants exposed personal information of 560 million customers in a May 2024 data breach, the plaintiff’s legitimately purchased NFL tickets for an October 2024 San Francisco 49ers game were illegally transferred, resulting in both ticket loss and subsequent identity theft with multiple fraudulent accounts opened in the plaintiff’s name. The case is Harding v. Ticketmaster. … Sports-betting platform operator SidePrize (d/b/a PrizePicks) sued its former director of social media, Judah Huffman, in Washington Western District Federal Court. The lawsuit, filed by Kabat Chapman & Ozmer and BoatLaw, claims the defendant stole trade secrets related to the plaintiff’s marketing operations by uploading confidential documents to his personal ChatGPT account. According to the complaint, the defendant violated his restrictive covenant agreement by accepting employment at DraftKings, a direct competitor. Additionally, the defendant is charged with deleting volumes of data from his company-issued devices before returning them at the end of his employment. The plaintiff seeks injunctive relief to prevent Huffman from working at DraftKings for one year. The case is Sideprize LLC d/b/a Prizepicks v. Huffman, 2:25-cv-01092. … Primo Boyz Records and Primo Boyz Music Publishing have been sued in a $10 million lawsuit filed in Florida Southern District Federal Court by Latin trap artist Mosqueda Paz (p/k/a Almighty). The lawsuit, filed by Rubio & Associates, alleges the defendants exploited the plaintiff’s limited English proficiency to secure an unfair contract in March 2019, subsequently breaching obligations regarding funding and royalties while wrongfully controlling his YouTube channel with 3.6 million subscribers. Despite delivering four albums and 48 additional songs, the plaintiff claims he received only $80,000 in compensation, with the defendants recently escalating tensions by issuing unauthorized takedown notices and maintaining improper control over his social media accounts following the contract’s expiration. The case is Paz v. Primo Boyz Records LLC, 1:25-cv-22652. … Experiential entertainment company Allied Gaming & Entertainment sued investment firm Knighted Pastures and certain affiliated defendants in California Central District Federal Court alleging violations of federal securities laws. The lawsuit, filed by Paul Hastings, claims the defendants secretly acquired significant amounts of Allied stock to gain control over the company’s board without proper disclosure. The case is Allied Gaming & Entertainment Inc. v. Knighted Pastures LLC, 2:25-cv-05312. … NBCUniversal Media and several major television production companies were sued by a former crew member of the reality show Below Deck in New York Southern District Federal Court. The pro se complaint alleges sexual harassment, hostile work environment and maritime law violations during the filming of the show’s third season. The lawsuit claims the defendants filmed workplace harassment, coerced unsafe working conditions, retaliated against complaints and engaged in defamation through edited footage. The case is Kotze v. NBCUniversal Media LLC, 1:25-cv-04703. … LiveOne and its subsidiary Slacker were sued for breach of contract and copyright infringement by Sony Music Entertainment in New York Southern District Federal Court. The suit, filed by Sidley Austin, seeks over $2.64 million in unpaid licensing fees. The complaint alleges that although the defendants terminated their content distribution agreement by payment default, they continued unauthorized streaming of Sony recordings through the LiveOne App. The case is Sony Music Entertainment v. Slacker Inc., 1:25-cv-04824. … Actor and comedian Anthony “Tony” Rock, the younger brother of Chris Rock, and Independent Artist Group (d/b/a Agency for the Performing Arts) were sued by producer, director and playwright Je’Caryous Johnson for breach of contract and conversion in New York Southern District Federal Court. The suit, filed by Brown & Rosen, seeks over $150,000 based on Rock’s alleged refusal to perform at Shubert Theater in New Haven, CN, in November 2022 as part of the We Outside Comedy Tour, resulting in the cancellation of other shows. The case is Je’Caryous Johnson Entertainment LLC v. Independent Artist Group d/b/a Agency for the Performing Arts Inc., 1:25-cv-04806. … Northern Ireland-based musician Cathal McGinley, performing as Kathel, was sued for copyright infringement in California Central District Federal Court over the alleged unauthorized sampling of drumbeats in two tracks on his album Kathel Music. The action, brought by Valkyrie Law Group on behalf of California-based producer Joseph Rayhbuck (Fat Coda Studios), claims McGinley distributed the infringing works through multiple platforms including Spotify, YouTube and Apple Music after incorporating elements from Rayhbuck’s 2015 work “Laterals” without permission. The case is Rayhbuck v. McGinley, 2:25-cv-05086.