Eggleston v. Daniels
| Decision Date | 16 August 2016 |
| Docket Number | Case No. 15-11893 |
| Parties | SOPHIA EGGLESTON Plaintiffs, v. LEE DANIELS, et al. Defendants. |
| Court | U.S. District Court — Eastern District of Michigan |
HON. TERRENCE G. BERG
HON. ELIZABETH A. STAFFORD
ORDER GRANTING IN PART AND DENYING IN PART DEFENDANTS' MOTION TO DISMISS FOR FAILURE TO STATE A CLAIM (DKT. 46) AND DENYING WITHOUT PREJUDICE DEFENDANTS DANIELS, SPELLMAN, AND STRONG'S MOTION TO DISMISS FOR LACK OF PERSONAL JURISDICTION (DKT. 48)
In this copyright infringement case, Plaintiff Sophia Eggleston ("Plaintiff" or "Eggleston") alleges that her self-characterization in her 2009 memoir The Hidden Hand was the uncredited inspiration for the character Loretha "Cookie" Lyon on the FOX television series Empire. (Dkt. 1, ¶¶ 73-80.) Two motions are before the Court. First, all Defendants seek to dismiss Plaintiff's First Amended Complaint pursuant to Federal Rule of Civil Procedure 12(b)(6) for failure to state a claim upon which relief can be granted. (Dkt. 46.) Second, Defendants Lee Daniels, Malcolm Spellman, and Daniel Strong (the "Individual Defendants") assert, pursuant to Federal Rule of Civil Procedure 12(b)(2), that this Court lacks personal jurisdiction over them. (Dkt. 48.) The motions are fully briefed, but Defendants have filed objections to several declarations Plaintiff submitted as exhibits to her response briefs. (Dkt. 56.) Plaintiff has responded to Defendants' objections. (Dkt. 57.)
On May 18, 2016, a hearing was held on these motions in Detroit, Michigan. (See Dkt. 58.) For the reasons stated below, Defendants' motion to dismiss will be GRANTED IN PART as to Count II only and DENIED as to the remaining Counts. The Individual Defendants' motion to dismiss for lack of personal jurisdiction (Dkt. 48) will be DENIED WITHOUT PREJUDICE. The Court will order the parties to conduct THIRTY DAYS of jurisdictional discovery. The Individual Defendants may re-file their motion to dismiss for lack of personal jurisdiction once this jurisdictional discovery is complete.
On May 27, 2015, Plaintiff filed a pro se complaint alleging that the television series Empire, and in particular the character Loretha "Cookie" Lyon ("Cookie Lyon"), was inspired by Plaintiff's 2009 memoir The Hidden Hand. (See Dkt. 1.) A copy of the memoir was attached to the complaint. (Id.) After Plaintiff retained an attorney, she filed her First Amended Complaint on November 20, 2015, and again attached a copy of The Hidden Hand. (Dkt. 43.) The First Amended Complaint contains two counts: copyright infringement in violation of 17 U.S.C. § 101 et seq. (Count I), and the unlawful appropriation of Plaintiff's right to publicity in violation of Michigan common law (Count II). (Id. at ¶¶ 75-96.)
In 2009, Plaintiff self-published her memoir entitled The Hidden Hand. (Id. at ¶¶ 31-32.) Composed between 2005 and 2007, with additional material added in 2009, The Hidden Hand details Plaintiff's "life of crime, her time in prison, and hersubsequent redemption." (Id. at ¶ 35.) The title is a reference to the hidden hand of God that Plaintiff believes has been guiding and protecting her throughout her tumultuous life. (Dkt. 43-1, p. 5-7.) Plaintiff registered her memoir with the copyright office on or about November 16, 2009, and received copyright registration number TXu001656874. (Dkt. 43, ¶¶ 33-34.)
The Hidden Hand, set primarily in Detroit, is a thorough retelling of Plaintiff's life beginning with her birth in 1966 and her earliest memories. (Dkt. 43-1, p. 20.) Plaintiff describes herself as a person who was born "ready to fight" and who suffered an abusive father throughout her childhood. (Id. at 20-23.) By the age of eight, Plaintiff asserts that she was leading her first gang and had developed an uncontrollable temper. (Id. at 27-28.) At fifteen, Plaintiff started selling drugs and moved into the home of Robert Lucas, with whom she began a romantic relationship. (Dkt. 43-2, pp. 3-11.) Plaintiff became addicted to drugs, and struggled with that addiction throughout her adult life. (See, e.g, dkt. 43-9, pp. 25-30.) She recounts how she committed crimes, was convicted of several offenses, and went to jail, but was eventually able to maintain her sobriety after serving her second prison term. (Dkt. 43-2, pp. 10, 32-45; Dkt. 43-3, pp. 9-10.)
Many significant events in Plaintiff's life are detailed in The Hidden Hand. Plaintiff recounts the attempted kidnapping of her youngest daughter (Dkt 43-10, pp. 44-46), and coming to terms with her brother's homosexuality, which he revealed to her while she was in prison (Dkt. 43-9, pp. 3-4). Plaintiff survived numerous incidents where she was threatened with guns. (Dkt. 43-8, p. 2; Dkt. 43-11, pp. 12-13; Dkt. 43-12, pp. 4-6, 21.) The memoir also includes stories about Plaintiff's two sisters, both of whom were murdered. (Dkt. 43-4, pp. 19-31; Dkt. 43-5, pp. 26-43.)
After her first sister's passing, Plaintiff met Eddie Hodge at a Johnnie Taylor show. (Dkt. 43-4, p. 37.) Eddie and Plaintiff became romantically involved, and it is through Eddie's contacts in the music business that Plaintiff met many famous musicians, including Taylor, B.B. King, and George Clinton. (Dkt. 43-4, pp. 37-50; Dkt. 43-5, pp. 1-2.) Plaintiff and Eddie eventually had a daughter. (Dkt. 43-5, p. 3.) The couple would separate and reconcile several times throughout Plaintiff's life until Eddie's death from cancer. (Dkt. 43-11, pp. 38-46.)
Prior to Eddie's death, Plaintiff had a romantic relationship with Rodney Meeks that was marred by drugs and violence. (Dkt. 43-5, pp. 37-50.) In 1992, after a particularly violent argument, Plaintiff shot and killed Rodney. (Dkt. 43-8, pp. 5-27; Dkt. 43-9, p. 2.) Plaintiff refused a plea deal and was tried for second-degree murder, but found guilty by jury of voluntary manslaughter and sentenced to one to fifteen years' imprisonment. (Dkt. 43-8, pp. 5-27.) Plaintiff claims that she was not initially able to remember the incident, but suffered a mental breakdown in prison when her memories finally returned, resulting in her temporary placement in the prison psychiatric unit. (Dkt. 43-9, pp. 2-3.) Plaintiff was released in 1995, but she failed several drug tests and had to complete a thirty-day drug rehabilitation program to avoid returning to prison. (Id. at 14-15, 23-27.) After completing theprogram, Plaintiff founded a Christian ministry called Jesus Freedom that includes a radio and television program. (Dkt. 43-9, pp. 29-33; Dkt. 43-10, p. 28.)
In 1996, Plaintiff learned about prisoner Felix Walls from Eddie's oldest son, who believed that Plaintiff's ministry could help Walls. (Dkt. 43-10, p. 27.) Plaintiff visited Walls at the Wayne County jail and soon fell in love with him. (Id. at 28.) Plaintiff believes that Walls' conviction is the result of a conspiracy against him and supported him throughout his retrial, even petitioning a federal judge and then United States Attorney General Janet Reno for assistance. (Id. at 29-44.) Walls was convicted a second time, however, which led Plaintiff to believe that God introduced her to Walls to inspire her to expose police corruption rather than to fulfill her own personal desires. (Id.) As a result of this revelation, Plaintiff had a series of altercations with the police. (Dkt. 43-11, pp. 6-8, 12-15, 46-47.)
In 2005, Plaintiff returned to prison for violating probation and marijuana possession when the police found a large quantity of the drug in her home. (Dkt. 43-12, pp. 39-46.) While serving this second prison sentence, Plaintiff began writing The Hidden Hand. (Id. at 44-45.) Plaintiff was released in 2007 (Id. at 47), but she had a health scare in 2009 that prompted her to write the final chapter. (Dkt. 43-13, pp. 1-4.) The final chapter details how Plaintiff began working as a community liaison for a home health care provider after serving her prison time. (Id. at 17-18.) She then founded her own home health care company that brings doctors to the residences of homebound individuals. (Id. at 18.) Plaintiff writes that she found redemption in ensuring that seniors and the disabled receive quality health careand are treated with dignity. (Id. at 18-20.) The memoir ends after Plaintiff succeeds in restoring the utilities of one of her elderly clients who could not afford to pay those bills. (Id. at 31.) Plaintiff concludes by imploring her readers to trust in the power and presence of God's hidden hand in their own lives. (Id. at 32.)
According to the First Amended Complaint, in 2011, approximately two years after completing The Hidden Hand, Plaintiff was introduced to Rita Grant Miller through a mutual acquaintance, producer Richard "Rick" Appling.1 (Dkt. 43, ¶¶ 36-40.) Miller has worked as a screenwriter and has been involved in the production of several films. (Id. at ¶ 37.) Appling arranged for Plaintiff to visit Miller's residence in California for a meeting where Plaintiff and Miller discussed adapting The Hidden Hand into a screenplay.2 (Id. at ¶ 40.) At the meeting, Plaintiff gave Miller a copy of The Hidden Hand and was interviewed at length by Miller, who took notes. (Id. at ¶¶ 42-43.) Miller told Plaintiff and Appling that Miller would adapt The Hidden Hand into a screenplay and pitch the idea to Defendant Lee Daniels. (Id. at ¶¶ 44-45.) Miller showed Plaintiff the 2013 movie The Butler, directed by Defendant Daniels and written and produced by Defendant Daniel Strong, to familiarize Plaintiff with Defendant Daniels' work. (Id. at ¶ 46.)
Plaintiff alleges that, on information and belief, Miller wrote a script or a treatment of The Hidden Hand. (Id. at ¶ 47.) After Plaintiff returned to Michigan, Miller called Plaintiff from New Jersey and told Plaintiff that Miller was meeting with Defendant Daniels and would pitch the adaptation of The Hidden Hand to him. (Id. at ¶¶ 48-52.) Plaintiff asserts that,...
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