Jordan-Benel v. Universal City Studios, Inc.
9th Cir.; 15-56045 The court of appeals affirmed a judgment. The court held that plaintiff’s claim for breach of implied-in-fact contract based…
June 20, 2017 at 04:22 PM
3 minute read
9th Cir.;
15-56045
The court of appeals affirmed a judgment. The court held that plaintiff's claim for breach of implied-in-fact contract based on the unauthorized use of his screenplay did not arise from protected free speech activity, but from defendants' alleged failure to pay for use of the screenplay.
Douglas Jordan-Benel wrote a screenplay entitled Settler's Day about a family's attempt to survive an annual, state-sanctioned, 24-hour period in which citizens are allowed to commit any crime without legal consequences. After registering it with the Writers Guild of America and the U.S. Copyright Office, he submitted it to United Talent Agency (UTA) for possible sale. UTA declined to buy the screenplay, but nonetheless forwarded it to client James DeMonaco, who then allegedly used it as the basis for a film script entitled The Purge, which was later produced and released by Universal City Studios, LLC and related entities, followed by two sequels. Jordan-Benel sued UTA, DeMonaco, and the production studios, alleging a cause of action for copyright infringement and a state law claim for breach of implied-in-fact contract.
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