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Netflix Slammed with Second Suit for Employee Poaching
Viacom, Inc filed suit against the streaming company in Los Angeles Superior Court this week. The complaint alleges that Netflix illegally recruits their employees from the personnel of rival entertainment companies – a practice which is known as “employee poaching”. The subject of this alleged poaching is Momita Sengupta, former executive vice president of production management and operations for Viacom who now works for the online entertainment giant. Her sudden departure in September of this year was a breach of her fixed-term contract with Viacom, which was not set to expire until April, 2020. According to the complaint, “Netflix — in an […]
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Furious Producer Sues Universal for Pulling a Fast One
On Wednesday, film producer Neil Moritz filed suit against Universal Studios for breach of oral contract and promissory fraud. Moritz was the lead producer on all eight Fast and Furious films. The dispute centers on his involvement with the forthcoming franchise spinoff Hobbs and Shaw, scheduled for release next August. In his complaint, Moritz alleges that he and Universal had reached an oral agreement in Spring 2017 whereby Moritz receives “$2 million in fixed compensation applicable against a 6% first dollar gross participation” for his work on Hobbs and Shaw. In other words, he would be paid an advance of $2 […]
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Former USA Gymnastics President Arrested for Covering Nassar Abuse
Steve Penny, former President and CEO of USA Gymnastics, was arrested on Wednesday in Tennessee after he was indicted by a Texas grandy jury on charges of evidence tampering. Penny resigned from his post in March 2017 amid mounting concerns regarding USA Gymnastics’ handling of allegations of sexual abuse by sports doctor Larry Nassar. Nassar is currently serving a prison sentence for criminal sexual conduct and child pornography, in a trial where almost 200 athletes came forward as survivors of Nassar’s unprecedented abuse. According to prosecutors, Penny ordered employees to hide or destroy documents relating to Nassar that were stored in […]
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“Be thankful O.J. is too old to play”—Shayana Jenkins Hernandez Sues the NFL
In her latest move in her battle with the NFL, Shayana Jenkins Hernandez (“Jenkins”), the former fiancée of late New England Patriots tight end Aaron Hernandez, refiled a lawsuit in state court against the NFL and Riddell, the NFL’s official helmet provider from 1989-2013. The claim alleges that the NFL was negligent in failing to protect the former Patriots tight end from the dangers and effects of concussions. When Aaron Hernandez was convicted of murder in 2015, many wondered whether the physicality of football contributed to his violent tendencies off the field. When he committed suicide in April 2017, researchers […]
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Bell Rings for Another Round in Waiter’s Suit against Pacquiao
A California appeals court has allowed a lawsuit brought by a Hollywood restaurant employee against Manny Pacquiao to proceed. Gabriel Rueda is demanding a finder’s fee for supposedly setting up the 2015 blockbuster boxing match with Floyd Mayweather. Rueda, also known as Gabriel Salvador,was an acquaintance of Pacquiao’s legendary trainer, Freddie Roach, because his son occasionally worked out at Roach’s Wild Card Gym. When CBS chief executive Les Moonves came into Rueda’s restaurant, Rueda told him he could “help get this fight going.” He subsequently set up a meeting between Moonves and Roach that he claims was instrumental to the deal. […]
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End It ‘Now!’: Andy Warhol Copyright Lawsuit Awaits Summary Judgment
In 2017, Andy Warhol’s estate filed a pre-emptive lawsuit in the U.S. District Court for the Southern District of New York against famous photographer Lynn Goldsmith for the rights to Warhol’s Prince prints. Goldsmith filed a counterclaim for copyright infringement shortly after. This past week, both parties have filed motions for summary judgment in what has become a heated debate. The latest arguments presented by Goldsmith question the artistic value Warhol adds to his source material by claiming that anyone could modify a photograph in similar ways with today’s technology. Goldsmith asserts that Warhol was given permission to use her original photograph of Prince as source material for a […]
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Judge Dismisses Stormy Daniels Defamation Suit
President Donald Trump has scored an initial win in Stormy Daniels’ defamation suit. On Monday, October 15, U.S. District Judge S. James Otero dismissed the suit alleging that Trump’s April 18, 2018, tweet defamed Daniels. Trump is also entitled to legal fees. Daniels’ attorney, Michael Avenatti, tweeted later that day that he had filed a Notice of Appeal with the Ninth Circuit. This defamation lawsuit is just one piece of the ongoing controversy surrounding the Daniels-Trump sex scandal. In March 2018, Daniels appeared in a “60 Minutes” interview and alleged that a man threatened her to remain quiet about her affair […]
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Ticketmaster Double Dipping Ticket Sales
In late September, a joint CBC News and Toronto Star investigation revealed allegations that Ticketmaster has been utilizing scalpers to get more money out of consumers through resales. While undercover at Ticket Summit 2018, a Las Vegas convention, reporters recorded Ticketmaster representatives stating that the company does not strictly monitor their site for scalpers and that they actually allow scalpers to scoop up blocks of tickets from the site. This arrangement essentially allows Ticketmaster to get two cuts out of the same ticket – through the initial ticket fee as well as through resale fees when the ticket is resold at […]
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October Madness – Adidas Consultant Testifies that College Basketball Star Received Payments
TJ Gassnola, a former consultant for Adidas, testified on Wednesday that the shoe company paid the family of Deandre Ayton, a former basketball player for the University of Arizona and the first selection in the most recent NBA draft, before or during his collegiate career. Gassnola’s testimony comes during the opening week of the first trial to emerge from the FBI’s investigation into malpractice in college basketball. Although the underlying trial pertains to two Adidas officials charged with wire fraud, Gassnola’s testimony is the latest bombshell that has sent shockwaves through the college sports world. The Justice Department has been investigating […]
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Landmark Music Copyright Reform Becomes Law
At a ceremony in the Oval Office on Thursday, President Trump signed the Music Modernization Act into law. The Act represents a major reform of Section 115 of the U.S. Copyright Act. It received bipartisan support in Congress and has been widely praised by major record labels, streaming services, consumer groups and artists. Three provisions in particular are likely to have major impacts on the recording industry. First, the Act streamlines the process for paying royalties on streamed music by creating a non-profit organization called the Mechanical Licensing Collective. The MLC will maintain a large music copyright database and offer blanket […]
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Kanye’s “The Life of Pablo” Tweet May Give Life to Class Action Suit
On February 15, 2016, Kanye West tweeted that his album, The Life of Pablo, “will never never never be on Apple. And it will never be for sale… You can only get it on Tidal.” A month and a half later, not only was the album on Apple, but it was also for sale on multiple sites other than Tidal. In October 2016, Justin Baker-Rhett, a Kanye fan, brought claims against Kanye and Aspiro AB, the operator of Tidal, for violations of New York State’s General Business Law and fraudulent inducement in a putative class action in the United States District […]
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CTE Kneeldown: Family of Junior Seau Settles with NFL
The family of legendary linebacker Junior Seau has settled its wrongful death lawsuit with the NFL for an undisclosed sum of money. Seau, who was 43 when he committed suicide in 2012, suffered from chronic traumatic encephalophy (CTE), the neurodegenerative disease that has been found in over one hundred deceased NFL players. The Seau family sued the NFL in California in 2013, alleging that his suicide was the result of the brain damage he suffered during his 20-year professional career. The case was subsequently consolidated with hundreds of similar suits in the Eastern District of Pennsylvania. The NFL eventually agreed to […]