Gentile v. Doyle

MEMORANDUM OPINION AND ORDER Plaintiffs Christopher Gentile and Juan A. Crawford (together, “Plaintiffs”) bring this action against Kevin Doyle (“Defendant”), alleging that Mr. Doyle and his former codefendant, Cassi Crededio, applied for, and received, copyright registrations of versions of a draft screenplay without proper authorization. Plaintiffs allege that they are the sole owners and authors of at least one version of that draft screenplay and assert claims for declaratory relief and copyright infringement. (See docket entry no. 52 (“Second Amended Complaint” or “SAC”).) Before the Court is Mr. Doyle’s motion to dismiss the Second Amended Complaint pursuant to Federal Rule of Civil Procedure 12(b)(6) for failure to state a claim upon which relief can be granted or, in the alternative, pursuant to Federal Rule of Civil Procedure 12(f) to strike certain allegations and requests for relief against Ms. Crededio. (Docket entry no. 56 (the “Motion”).) The Court has jurisdiction of the dispute pursuant to 28 U.S.C. sections 1331 and 1338(a). The Court has reviewed carefully the submissions in connection with the instant motion. For the following reasons, Mr. Doyle’s motion to dismiss the Second Amended Complaint is granted in its entirety. BACKGROUND Factual Background The following facts, drawn from the Second Amended Complaint, are taken as true for the purposes of the instant motion practice. The Untitled Wyoming Project This case concerns ownership of two draft versions of a screenplay referred to as the “Untitled Wyoming Project” or “The Monarch” (the “Work” or the “Untitled Wyoming Project”). Mr. Gentile first conceived of the idea for the Work approximately fifteen years ago, when he was inspired by the idea of a show “focused around a flawed female heroine.” (SAC

24-25.) After learning that Wyoming was the “first state or territory in the nation to grant suffrage to women, in 1869[,]” Mr. Gentile decided to create a show based upon the women’s suffrage movement in the American West, led by a “ madam” in the Wyoming area who “ran a brothel” and also “championed women’s rights.” (Id.