GILL v. FONTANA

UNITED STATES DISTRICT COURT
FOR THE DISTRICT OF COLUMBIA
ANDREW GILL, 	)
)
Plaintiff, 	)
)
v. 	) 	Civil Action No. 25-03131 (UNA)
)
CHRISTINA FONTANA, 	)
)
Defendant. 	)
MEMORANDUM OPINION
This action brought pro se is before the Court on review of Plaintiff’s complaint and
application to proceed in forma pauperis. For the following reasons, the Court grants the
application and dismisses the complaint.
In this action for copyright infringement, Plaintiff sues filmmaker Christina Fontana. He
alleges that “facts in the [Relentless] TV Series,” a true crime docuseries on HBO Max, are
excerpts from his “Autobiogrophy (sic) Regarding Glen Ledbetter, his stepdad Robert E Fogle Jr,
and Glen Ledbetter’s Ex Wife Rose Ellen Fogle!” Plaintiff also “alleges harassment and abuse
from the LGBTQ and Fontana” and requests “royalties.” Compl., ECF No. 1 at 2.
To plead copyright infringement, a plaintiff must allege plausible facts establishing his
ownership of a registered copyright and “that the defendant has taken enough original elements
protected by that copyright to create a substantially similar copy.” Nichols v. Club for Growth
Action, 235 F. Supp.3d 289, 293 (D.D.C. 2017). “The mere fact that a work is copyrighted” does
not suffice. 	Feist Publications, Inc. v. Rural Telephone Service Co., Inc., 499 U.S. 340, 348
(1991). To be protected, the “work must be original to the author,” i.e., “independently created . .
. as opposed to copied from other works” and have “some minimal degree of creativity.” Id. at
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345 (parenthesis omitted). No author “may copyright facts or ideas,” however. Sturdza v. United
Arab Emirates, 281 F.3d 1287, 1295 (D.C. Cir. 2002) (quoting Feist Publ’ns, 499 U.S. at 350).
Plaintiff’s vague allegations fail to state a claim under the Copyright Act or any other
federal statute, and “federal courts are without power to entertain claims otherwise within their
jurisdiction if they are so attenuated and unsubstantial as to be absolutely devoid of merit.” Hagans
v. Lavine, 415 U.S. 528, 536-37 (1974) (collecting cases). Therefore, this case will be dismissed
by separate order.
_________/s/_____________
ANA C. REYES
Dated: December 29, 2025 	United States District Judge
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