R. Lance Hill v. Metro Goldwyn Mayer Studios Inc.

R. Lance Hill sues MGM, United Artists, and Amazon Studios for copyright infringement over allegedly stolen literary work.

Summary generated by AI from public docket data. Verify against the original filing before relying on it.

Deep summary (AI brief of the complaint)

# Case Brief: R. Lance Hill v. Metro Goldwyn Mayer Studios Inc. **Case No. 2:24-cv-01587 (C.D. Cal., filed Feb. 27, 2024)** --- **Plaintiff:** R. Lance Hill (a/k/a David Lee Henry), individual, resident of Canada, represented by Marc Toberoff of Toberoff & Associates, P.C. **Defendant:** Metro-Goldwyn-Mayer Studios Inc. (Delaware corp.), Amazon Studios LLC (California LLC), and United Artists Pictures Inc. (Delaware corp.), all headquartered in Los Angeles County. **Core allegation:** Hill authored the *Road House* screenplay on spec in July 1986, assigned the copyright to United Artists on September 16, 1986, and timely served a statutory termination notice under 17 U.S.C. § 203(a) effective November 11, 2023, which recaptured the U.S. copyright in the screenplay. Defendants refused to acknowledge the termination and completed an unauthorized 2024 remake of *Road House* derived from Hill's screenplay after the termination's effective date without obtaining a new license from Hill. **Asserted IP:** - Original *Roadhouse*…

AI-generated from the filed complaint. Always verify against the original document.

Coverage vs realityNo signal

Counsel of record

For the plaintiff

Toberoff and Associates PCMarc Toberoff
Independent counselDarrell Rae Atkinson

For the defendant

Sheppard Mullin Richter and Hampton LLPDylan J. Price, Paul A. Bost, Wook Hwang
Loeb and Loeb LLPDavid Aaron Grossman
Sheppard, Mullin, Richter & Hampton LLPAngelica H Nguyen

Other counsel (amici, etc.)

Mark Goldzweig & AssociatesMark J Goldzweig

Court: U.S. District Court, Central District of California
Docket no.: 2:24-cv-01587
Nature of suit: Copyright
Judge: Hernan D. Vera
Filed: 2024-02-27
Last filing: 2026-08-24

Cause

17:501 Copyright Infringement

Entities in this case

MGM3 R. Lance Hill

Parties

Mark Goldzweig Lady Amos Literary Works Ltd. Does Metro Goldwyn Mayer Studios Inc. United Artists Pictures Inc Amazon Studios LLC R. Lance Hill

Docket entries

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#772026-04-23
TRANSCRIPT ORDER as to Defendants Amazon Studios LLC, Metro Goldwyn Mayer Studios Inc., United Artists Pictures Inc for Court Smart (CS). Court will contact Brad Rank at brank@sheppard.com with further instructions regarding this order. Transcript preparation will not begin until payment has been satisfied with the transcription company. (Hwang, Wook) (Entered: 04/23/2026)
#762026-04-22
MINUTES OF Informal Discovery Conference 67 held before United States Magistrate Judge Stephanie S. Christensen: Proceedings held remotely. Public access to proceeding available in Courtroom 590. Case is called. Counsel make their appearances. Separate order to follow. Court Recorder: CourtSmart 4/22/2026. Counsel for Plaintiff(s): Darrell Rae Atkinson, Esq. Counsel for Defendant(s): Wook Hwang, Esq. and Paul A. Bost, Esq. Courtroom Deputy: Teagan Snyder. Time in Court: 47 mins. THERE IS NO PDF DOCUMENT ASSOCIATED WITH THIS ENTRY (tsn) (Entered: 04/22/2026)
2026-04-22
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Docket history from CourtListener/RECAP — most recent first.

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View on CourtListener →Open in feed →Last updated 2026-08-25

Summary