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

# 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* spec screenplay authored by Hill, dated July 1986 - Termination notice recorded with U.S. Copyright Office on January 8, 2022 (Doc. No. V9985D535), effective November 11, 2023 - Supplemental "Lady Amos Termination" notice recorded January 8, 2022 (Doc. No. V9982D930), effective November 11, 2023 - Underlying U.S. copyright in the screenplay (reverted to Hill by operation of 17 U.S.C. § 203(a) on November 11, 2023) **Relief sought:** Declaratory judgment confirming validity of termination, damages for copyright infringement (including willful infringement), and injunctive relief. **Why it matters:** This case directly tests the enforceability of § 203(a) termination rights against major streaming-era studios, with the 2024 Amazon/MGM *Road House* remake (starring Jake Gyllenhaal) as the infringing work—a high-profile test of whether loan-out "work for hire" boilerplate can defeat an author's inalienable statutory recapture rights.