Lawsuit
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A producer who worked on Fleetwood Mac’s Rumours is suing the creators of the hit Broadway play Stereophonic, claiming they stole material from his memoir about working on the legendary album.
In a lawsuit filed Tuesday (Oct. 2) in Manhattan federal court, Ken Caillat and co-author Steven Stiefel call the Tony Award-winning show an “unauthorized adaptation” of their 2012 book Making Rumours — and accuse playwright David Adjmi of “flagrant and willful infringement.”
“Stereophonic copies the heart and soul of Making Rumours,” attorneys for Caillat and Stiefel write in their complaint. “The striking similarity is readily apparent right from the beginning of the show.”
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Featuring the music of Arcade Fire’s Will Butler, Stereophonic debuted on Broadway last fall, eventually winning five Tony Awards including best play, best direction of a play and best featured actor in a play.
Critics quickly noted the similarities to the infamous story of the recording session for Fleetwood Mac’s Rumours, which featured high tensions and heavy drug usage. A reviewer for the Wall Street Journal said the play was “fictionalizing Fleetwood Mac”; another critic said the play “isn’t literally about Fleetwood Mac, but c’mon.”
In their lawsuit, Caillat and Stiefel say the hit play “presents a nearly identical story arc as Making Rumours,” told from the same perspective of a sound engineer in a recording studio, about five characters who are “undeniably analogous to the members of Fleetwood Mac.”
“Stereophonic is undoubtedly a play based on plaintiffs’ memoir Making Rumours because substantial similarities exist between the two works, a reality that has been independently confirmed by those familiar with plaintiffs’ book who have also had the opportunity to review the play,” the duo’s lawyers write.
The new case presents tricky legal questions. Under U.S. law, historical events cannot be monopolized under copyrights, and nobody can claim exclusive ownership over the real story behind the making of Rumours. But specific creative elements of how such a story is told can be protected by copyrights, and film, TV and stage producers often license non-fiction books as the basis for their works.
In their case, Caillat and Stiefel claim that Adjmi copied those exact kinds of creative choices when he created his play: “Stereophonic’s audience not only sits in the same place that Mr. Caillat sat, but the show also depicts Mr. Caillat’s wild ride as it is described in Making Rumours.”
Adjmi is no stranger to copyright litigation. Back in 2014, he filed a preemptive lawsuit over his off-Broadway show called 3C, which riffed on the sitcom Three’s Company. In that case, filed after the sitcom’s owners threatened litigation, Adjmi argued the play was clearly a legal parody of the earlier show. And he eventually won, securing a ruling that his play was a legal “fair use” of the famous show.
In their complaint, Caillat and Stiefel noted that earlier case, but pointedly argued that such a defense would not work this time around: “Stereophonic is not a parody, and it is not in any way a fair use of Making Rumours.”
Reps for Adjmi did not immediately return requests for comment.
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Lauryn Hill was the target of a lawsuit from her Fugees bandmate, Pras Michél which alleges that the celebrated rapper and singer breached a contract that sank plans of a reunion tour among other claims. Lauryn Hill fired back with comments herself, shooting down Pras Michél’s claims immediately after.
Variety exclusively reports that Pras Michél filed the lawsuit on Tuesday (October 1) in federal court, alleging instances of fraud and a breach of contract in connection to a 2023 tour featuring all three members of the Fugees which includes Wyclef Jean.
From Variety:
In a scathing lawsuit, filed Tuesday in the Southern District of New York, Michél alleges that Hill grossly mismanaged the setup, marketing and budgeting of their scuttled 2023 tour, which “was actually a veiled and devious attempt to make a big score for herself,” the complaint states, adding that the singer then secretly siphoned off money from the tour guarantees. The full list of claims also include breach of fiduciary duty and refusal to permit an audit of the Fugees’ tour.
After the report was published, Lauryn Hill issued her version of events via a statement to the publication:
In a statement to Variety, Hill calls Michél’s suit “baseless” and “full of false claims and unwarranted attacks.” The Grammy-winning artist adds that Michél’s complaint, filed Tuesday in the Southern District of New York, omits that her former bandmate “was advanced overpayment for the last tour and has failed to repay substantial loans extended by myself as an act of goodwill.” (Michel’s suit does note that he did not make money on the 2023 tour that was canceled due to Hill’s vocal strain and instead is in the hole for $900,000 in unrecouped expenses.) In her statement, she adds that the 2024 tour, which was canceled by Live Nation days before it was scheduled to kick off, “was being planned whether the Fugees were involved or not.” (Michél’s suit claims that his and fellow co-founder Wyclef Jean’s involvement was a stipulation made by Live Nation.)
The publication examined the finer details of Michél’s lawsuit, with a claim stating that Hill turned down $5 million for the Fugees to perform at Coachella. The lawsuit adds the reason Hill shot down the offer was that No Doubt received top billing over the group.
The Fugees were set to hit the road earlier this summer but the tour was suddenly cancelled just days before it was set to kick off.
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Donald Trump has yet another legal issue to deal with. A Haitian nonprofit organization has filed a lawsuit against him for his false pet eating claims.
As reported by News 5 Cleveland, the Haitian Bridge Alliance has a submitted a claim against the former President and his running mate JD Vance. Their executive director Guerline Jozef expressed their reasoning in a formal statement. “Over the last two weeks, both Trump and Vance led an effort to vilify and threaten the Haitian community in Springfield, Ohio,” Jozef wrote. “Together, they spread and amplified the debunked claim that Haitians immigrants in Springfield are eating cats, dogs, and wildlife.”
The organization’s attorney Subodh Chandra detailed how Trump and Vance’s claims have forever negatively impacted the Haitian community in Springfield. “If anyone else had disrupted public service, made false alarms, and engaged in telecommunications harassment in the manner Trump and Vance did with their relentless and persistent lies—even after the governor and mayor said what they were saying was false, they would’ve been arrested by now,” he said in a written statement. “They must be held accountable to the rule of law in the same way any of the rest of us would be.”
During the recent presidential debate Donald Trump made some baseless claims that immigrants were stealing pets and cooking them. “They’re eating the dogs, the people that came in, they’re eating the cats,” Trump when asked a question about immigration. “They’re eating the pets of the people that live there, and this is what’s happening in our country, and it’s a shame.” JD Vance also promoted the false narrative and would later admit that on CNN that he is not above spreading falsehoods in order to sell in his agenda.
Neither politician has yet to formally respond to the matter. According to the Haitian Bridge Alliance’s website they advocate “for fair and humane immigration policies and provides migrants and immigrants with humanitarian, legal, and social services.” You can read more about their organization here.
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Sean “Diddy” Combs is currently behind bars at a detention facility in New York as he awaits sentencing and his legal troubles are still mounting. A new lawsuit filed by Thalia Graves alleges that Diddy and a bodyguard brutally assaulted her and that the incident was filmed.
As reported by CNN, Thalia Graves, 48, held a press conference alongside Gloria Allred on Tuesday (September 24) in Los Angeles. Graves was a former resident of Queens who encountered Diddy around 1999 and 2000 as her boyfriend at the time was a part of the Bad Boy Records executive team.
In her lawsuit, Graves says that in the summer of 2001 while at her mother’s home, she entered into a vehicle with Combs and his bodyguard Joseph “Big Joe” Sherman and accepted a glass of wine. She alleges in the suit that after having the wine, she began to feel strange after consuming the beverage.
Graves said that she eventually passed out from the wine, which she alleges was tainted with drugs, and woke up naked in a Manhattan studio with her hands tied behind her. She goes on to say that Combs sexually assaulted her and used force to keep her stationery as she tried to resist. She added that Sherman sexually assaulted her as well as she regained and lost consciousness.
While flanked by Allred, the current Texas native said that the encounter with Diddy left her physically and emotionally damaged.
“The combination of physical and emotional pain has created a cycle of suffering from which it is so hard to break free,” Graves said, through tears. “I want to continue on this journey towards recovery and healing. I’m glad that he is locked up, but that’s a temporary feeling of relief.”
While Combs’ legal team has yet to respond to Graves’ 26-page complaint, Sherman issued a statement saying that Graves’ assertion of him assaulting her were “false and baseless accusations” and added that Graves is looking to cash in on a financial settlement.
“These accusations are not only false but damaging to my character,” Sherman said. “I have never met the accuser, and I was not working with Sean Combs during the time in question. I will be pursuing legal action to address this defamation and protect my name.”
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Nelly burst onto the scene in 2000 with his debut album Country Grammar and rolled with the St. Lunatics group comprised of his childhood friends from his hometown of St. Louis. Nelly now faces a lawsuit alleging that he failed to credit the St. Lunatics for their hand in crafting his debut album.
As reported by Variety, Nelly, real name Cornell Haynes, is facing a copyright infringement for what the St. Lunatics say is uncredited and unpaid work that went into the making of Country Grammar.
The St. Lunatics collective includes Ali (Ali Jones), Murphy Lee (Torhi Harper), Kyjuan (Robert Kyjuan), and City Spud (Lavell Webb). The group filed the lawsuit earlier this week in New York federal court.
The outlet overlooked the lawsuit which said that Nelly and the St. Lunatics were friends since grade school and began writing songs together in the 1990s. They then signed separately to deals at Universal Music Group and the lawsuit claims that the St. Lunatics contributed heavily to Country Grammar. Their side said they tried to negotiate with Nelly regarding the crediting and were allegedly told things would move forward but in 2020, they discovered they were duped and that he took full credit for their work.
The St. Lunatics said they learned of their missing credits after Willie Woods Jr. filed a lawsuit in 2020 demanding royalties for his contributions to the hit single “Ride Wit Me” which opened the door for the latest legal actions. It appears that Nelly himself didn’t shoot down the St. Lunatics but instead, his legal representatives, which promoted the group to assert that the rapper never intended to give them proper credit.
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The Wendy Williams saga continues. Her representatives claim she was only paid $82,000 for the controversial documentary on her life.
As spotted on Huffington Post the media mogul’s caretakers are taking action against the production company who developed the Lifetime series Where Is Wendy Williams?. Released earlier this year the four part project gave her fans a behind the scenes look into the rollercoaster life of the former talk show host. The footage showed that the Ocean Township, New Jersey native was dealing with mental health issues, alcohol abuse as well as being placed under guardianship. Ultimately a large portion of her fanbase felt that the documentary showed her in a poor light.
Earlier this week Wendy Williams’ legal team filed a suit against the state the procedures alleging they “viciously and shamelessly exploited” her and depicted her “in a highly demeaning and embarrassing manner. According to court documents she was only paid $82,000 for her participation and her rights. “This is a paltry sum for the use of highly invasive, humiliating footage that portrayed her in the confusing throes of dementia, while Defendants, who have profited on the streaming of the Program have likely already earned millions,” the filing reads. “As our complaint shows in painful and excruciating detail, A&E, Lifetime and Mark Ford viciously and shamelessly exploited Wendy Williams for their own profit while she was obviously incapacitated and suffering from dementia,” said Kaplan Martin LLP and Cadwalader, Wickersham & Taft LLP in an exclusive statement.
In turn her team is looking for the production company to forfeit all earnings on the project to cover her medical expenses. The defendants have yet to formally respond.
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Pharrell Williams opened up about his relationship with former Neptunes partner Chad Hugo and stated the two aren’t speaking, presumably due to a legal dispute.
The rift between Pharrell Williams and Chad Hugo has been noticeable, and the multifaceted producer has confirmed how deep it is. In a recent interview, Pharrell spoke at length about the new documentary on his life, Piece By Piece. He was asked about Hugo and the lawsuit that was filed against him by his former partner who claims that Pharrell is trying to monopolize The Neptunes, which the two performed under. “I always wish him the absolute best,” Pharrell replied. When asked if the two were on speaking terms, he answered: “No. But I love him, and I always wish him the absolute best, and I’m very grateful for our time together.”
The lawsuit by Hugo was filed in a federal court in April, alleging that Pharrell’s move to register a sole claim to The Neptunes name, which the filing states goes against the duo’s prior agreement that everything be equally divided. Williams made the filing through his PW IP Holdings LLC company in 2022. “Throughout their over thirty-year history, [Hugo] and Williams agreed to, and in fact, have divided all assets,” wrote Hugo’s attorney Kenneth D. Freundlich in the filing. “By ignoring and excluding [Hugo] from the any and all applications filed by applicant for the mark ‘The Neptunes,’ applicant has committed fraud in securing the trademarks and acted in bad faith.”
In response, an attorney for Pharrell claimed the “Happy” artist was “surprised” by the lawsuit, stating that “We have reached out on multiple occasions to share in the ownership and administration of the trademark and will continue to make that offer.”
The news comes as Piece By Piece recently premiered at the Toronto International Film Festival. The Focus Features film, which is animated by LEGO figurines, features Jay-Z, Snoop, Kendrick Lamar, Missy Elliott, Timberlake, Gwen Stefani, Timbaland, and Busta Rhymes lending their voices – as well as Hugo. “This is a next level of breaking so many norms and boundaries of what a typical narrative is. This one feels like it could be the most special thing we’ve ever done,” said Focus Features chair Peter Kujawski.
Johnson & Johnson is facing a lawsuit that accuses the pharma giant of “rampant infringement” of copyrighted instrumental music in YouTube and Facebook videos.
In a complaint filed last week in Los Angeles federal court, Associated Production Music (APM) claims that J&J released nearly 80 different internet videos featuring unlicensed “production music” — an industry term for stock tracks created for use in videos, podcasts and other content.
“At no point did defendant ever obtain APM’s license, authorization, or consent to synchronize the Recordings with the Videos,” the company’s lawyers write. “Moreover, despite being repeatedly contacted by APM regarding Defendant’s unlicensed uses of the Recordings, Defendant has refused to obtain proper licenses or admit wrongdoing.”
APM, a joint venture of Sony Music Publishing and Universal Music Publishing, describes itself as the top purveyor of production music in the country, controlling huge libraries of songs that have appeared in TV shows (Stranger Things, Game of Thrones and Spongebob Squarepants), movies (Lady Bird, The Shape of Water and The Big Sick) and video games (Call of Duty: Infinite Warfare and MLB: The Show). One particularly notable APM song is “Heavy Action,” the theme to Monday Night Football.
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Earlier this year, APM says it discovered that J&J had been using the company’s songs without permission. The lawsuit lists out 79 different videos featuring 30 different APM songs, like a YouTube video posted by J&J in May 2021 called “Nurse Leaders Disrupting Healthcare.” The video, which features an upbeat instrumental track behind narration, allegedly used an APM track called “Driving Inspiration” without securing a license.
The lawsuit is light on details, and it’s unclear how a sophisticated company came to release dozens of videos without securing licenses for the music. A representative for J&J did not immediately return a request for comment on the allegations.
Though the songs in question are hardly Hot 100 hits, intentionally using them without a license would still be a costly decision for J&J. Under federal copyright law, a judge can award as much as $150,000 per song infringed if a defendant acted willfully — nearly $12 million for all the songs involved.
The members of 1960s rock band The Guess Who have settled a bitter trademark lawsuit in which two bandmates referred to a recent iteration of the group as nothing more than a “cover band.”
In a statement, Randy Bachman and Burton Cummings said they had reached a deal to resolve their lawsuit against fellow original members Jim Kale and Garry Peterson — ending a legal battle among the four original members of the band best known for hits like “American Woman” and “These Eyes.”
Under the deal, Bachman and Cummings said they will acquire full control over the trademark to the band’s name. Monetary terms and other aspects of the agreement were not disclosed in the announcement, and no legal papers announcing the settlement have yet been filed in court.
“We are pleased to have reached a resolution that honors our shared history and allows us to move forward with a new sense of purpose and camaraderie,” Bachman said, with Cummings adding that they were “committed to preserving and celebrating the legacy for our fans.”
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Attorneys for Kale and Peter didn’t immediately return a request for comment. As recently as April, their attorneys called the lawsuit “a complete farce” and threatened to “hold Bachman and Cummings accountable for their wrongful and extortionate conduct.”
The battle between the members of The Guess Who was just the latest clash between bandmates over the legal rights to classic group names. Journey, Stone Temple Pilots and Jefferson Starship have all fought protracted litigation over their trademarks, as have members of The Rascals, The Ebonys, The Commodores and The Platters.
Such disputes often arise out of one question: Who truly constitutes the band? Is it the members, or an LLC that owns the rights to the name? Is it the original lineup, or the one that produced the biggest hits? Does one key member and a bunch of replacements count? Fans, band members and lawyers will likely give you different answers.
Bachman and Cummings sued last year, claiming that Kale and Peterson were misleading the public by operating a “cover band” under the name The Guess Who. The case claimed that the rival band had never featured Bachman or Cummings, that Kale had retired in 2016 and that Peterson only rarely took the stage — but that the group had been falsely advertised as the real thing.
The lawsuit called the band a “deceptive scheme” driven by Kale and Peterson’s “greed.”
“Defendants’ false advertisements and marketing have led to confusion and outrage by fans and consumers, many of whom have taken to social media to share their experiences of being deceived into buying tickets to see the Cover Band because of advertising and promotion by Defendants implying that the Cover Band’s live performances will include Plaintiffs,” read the lawsuit filed by Bachman and Cummings.
Unsurprisingly, Kale and Peterson saw things differently. In an April motion to dismiss the lawsuit, they pointed out that they owned the federal trademark registration for the name and called the lawsuit a “complete farce” — perpetrated by two former members who had left the band in the 1970s and whom nobody expected to see in the current lineup.
“Consumers who see an ad for a concert by The Guess Who would not reasonably assume that Bachman and Cummings are performing merely because they were in the band many years ago,” Kale and Peterson’s attorneys wrote. “It is common knowledge that bands often undergo membership changes and that few if any bands formed in the 1960s still have the same lineup today.”
Responding to a lawsuit that called them a “cover band,” Kale and Peterson fired back with their own personal digs, painting Bachman and Cummings as spurned former members who were jealous of their ex-bandmates’ ongoing success.
“After all, that is what is really driving this lawsuit. Following their time in The Guess Who, Bachman and Cummings performed as solo artists or in other acts, but found less success than they apparently expected,” read Kale and Peterson’s response. “As a result, Bachman and Cummings have tried to take The Guess Who name for themselves, despite having left the band decades ago and Defendants carrying on the band’s legacy.”
The most recent legal battle between Journey members Jonathan Cain and Neal Schon appears to be over after Schon conceded to the appointment of a neutral third party to resolve the “deadlock” that Cain has claimed is crippling the band’s operations.
In an order issued Wednesday (Aug. 28), a Delaware judge appointed a so-called custodian to break ties between the two longtime bandmates. The ruling came a month after Cain sued Schon seeking such an umpire, claiming their endless disputes pose “a severe threat of harm” to the band’s “storied history of musical greatness.”
The order comes after Schon agreed to the appointment of such a neutral. In his written ruling, the judge wrote: “Schon does not oppose the court’s appointment of a custodian with the power to act as a third, deadlock breaking director.”
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In a statement, a spokesman for Cain said he was “elated with the outcome and looks forward to moving beyond this matter so that Journey can continue the band’s 50th Anniversary Freedom Tour.” An attorney for Schon did not immediately return a request for comment.
Legal battles are nothing new for Cain and Schon, the two key remaining members of an iconic rock band that’s still printing money decades after its “Don’t Stop Believin’” heyday. The two have repeatedly fought in court over the band’s finances over the past two years.
Filed by Cain last month in Delaware’s Chancery Court, the new case largely rehashed those same disagreements over spending — like Cain claiming that Schon unilaterally charts private jets and lavishly spends band funds on personal expenses.
But in technical terms, the case focused narrowly on the governance of Freedom 2020 Inc., a Delaware-based corporate entity they created to operate Journey’s touring. Since Cain and Schon each control exactly 50% of the company, the lawsuit says the two have reached an impasse that has spilled into many aspects of the band’s operations.
“The deadlock between the company’s directors is now interfering with the company’s ability to take even the most basic actions and is causing significant disruptions in the smooth operation of the company,” Cain’s lawyers wrote.
Wednesday’s order aims to resolve that situation by naming Joseph R. Slights, a former Chancery Court judge, as a custodian — a court-appointed official who can cast tie-breaking votes in corporate disputes.
To carry out those duties, the judge said that Slights will be able to “retain advisors or professionals, including music-industry advisors, attorneys, accountants and other professionals,” in order to decide how to resolve disputes between Cain and Schon.
Slights will have his work cut out for him. The complaint lodged last month painted a picture of extreme dysfunction within Journey, ranging from spending decisions to managing employees.
“Petitioner and respondent are deadlocked with regard to issues concerning the hiring and firing of company employees and Band crew members,” Cain’s lawyers wrote in the lawsuit. “It is common that one director will terminate an employee or crew member, and hours or days later, the other director will rehire that same individual.”
In a Facebook post last week, Schon said the accusations leveled by Cain were “slanderous” and that he “can’t stress enough how much it upset me and how wrong they are.” But he hinted that a deal was close to resolve the lawsuit by appointing a neutral third party like Slights.
“We’re going to bring in someone impartial to help us resolve our disputes, bring clarity to what we’re doing and allow us, as a band, to get back to what we should all focus on — making music and performing for our fans,” Schon wrote at the time.