Storm chaser Aaron Rigsby sues Sinclair over Hurricane Helene footage he says WGXA posted as a YouTube Short

What was filed

The complaint is Document 1 in No. 1:26-cv-04380, U.S. District Court for the District of Maryland, filed and dated October 20, 2026, and assigned to Judge Julie Rebecca Rubin. It runs 13 pages and refers to three exhibits: screengrabs of the video, screengrabs of the alleged infringement, and a screengrab of the alleged infringement captured October 12, 2026. The exhibits are not publicly available. The plaintiff is Aaron Rigsby, who the complaint says is a citizen of Colorado with a principal place of business in Adams County, Colorado. Counsel is Craig Sanders of Sanders Law Group of Uniondale, New York. Jurisdiction is pleaded under 28 U.S.C. 1338(a) and 1331, and venue under 28 U.S.C. 1400(a) and 1391(b)(1) and (b)(2). He demands a jury trial. (Compl. paras. 5, 13 to 15, 22, 38, 56, 82; p. 13; Dkt. 1.)

There are four defendants. The complaint describes Sinclair, Inc. as a publicly traded Maryland corporation based in Hunt Valley, Maryland, and Sinclair Broadcast Group, LLC, formerly Sinclair Broadcast Group, Inc., as a Maryland limited liability company based there whose sole member is a wholly owned subsidiary of Sinclair, Inc. It alleges, on information and belief, that Sinclair Television Group, Inc. is a wholly owned subsidiary of Sinclair Broadcast Group, and that WGXA Licensee, LLC is the FCC licensee of record for television station WGXA in Macon, Georgia, and an indirect, wholly owned subsidiary of the other three. It alleges the four operate as a single, integrated media enterprise from Hunt Valley, and, on information and belief, that WGXA Licensee, Sinclair Television Group, and Sinclair Broadcast Group are each responsible for the content on WGXA's YouTube account. (Compl. paras. 6 to 12, 37.)

The video and its registration

The complaint describes Rigsby as a professional storm chaser and videographer who has documented severe weather for more than a decade, publishes footage on his YouTube channel, "Storm Chaser Aaron Rigsby," and licenses it to news organizations. It alleges that on September 26, 2024, as Hurricane Helene made landfall, he filmed a storm surge carrying houses, boats, and debris up the Steinhatchee River in Steinhatchee, Florida, and that he first published the video on his YouTube channel at about 3:42 p.m. Eastern Time on September 27, 2024. It alleges he has never licensed the video to any defendant. (Compl. paras. 2, 16 to 24.)

The complaint pleads Registration No. PA 2-510-180, effective November 9, 2024, and says registration within three months after first publication makes statutory damages and attorney's fees available under 17 U.S.C. 412. (Compl. paras. 22 to 23, 44.) The Copyright Office public catalog lists PA0002510180 for the video by its YouTube title, with a registration date of November 9, 2024, a first publication date of September 27, 2024, and Aaron Rigsby as author and claimant. The record lists the work as a motion picture with authorship of the entire motion picture.

What the complaint alleges about the WGXA YouTube Short

It alleges that on September 27, 2024, about 31 minutes after Rigsby first published the video, the defendants copied portions of it and displayed them on the WGXA YouTube account (@WGXA) as a 55-second YouTube Short titled "Drone footage reveals the massive destruction caused by Hurricane Helene." It alleges the defendants added their own "WGXA NEWS" logo and described the footage as showing destruction in "Cedar Key and Steinhatchee, Florida." It alleges portions of the Short show Rigsby's name in translucent vertical text along the left edge of the frame, so the defendants knew the footage was his. It alleges that as of October 12, 2026 the Short remained publicly displayed and had been viewed more than 34,000 times, and that Rigsby first discovered it on August 12, 2025. (Compl. paras. 4, 38 to 45.)

On notice, the complaint alleges Rigsby's counsel served a letter on Sinclair Broadcast Group on September 10, 2025 about the use, and a follow-up on October 10, 2025 asking the defendants to cease and desist, and that the defendants did not respond to either. It alleges that on September 27, 2024 Rigsby licensed the video to CNN for thirty days on the express condition of "no distribution," that the license did not permit CNN to distribute it to CNN Newsource affiliates or to any defendant, and that it expired in October 2024. It alleges that on September 29, 2026, answering a further letter, Sinclair's Associate General Counsel asserted that "the material in question was obtained through our agreement with CNN Newsource," without identifying any license from Rigsby. The complaint's position is that no agreement with CNN could convey rights CNN did not hold, and that any permitted CNN use ended in October 2024. It alleges the Short remained publicly displayed as of the date of the complaint. (Compl. paras. 51 to 56.)

It pleads willfulness, pointing to the defendants' business as professional content creators and licensors, their own copyright terms and DMCA policy, an admission it says Sinclair Broadcast Group made about copyright training in Global Weather Productions LLC v. Sinclair Broadcast Group, LLC, No. 1:26-cv-01331-ABA (D. Md.), and Nicklen v. Sinclair Broadcast Group, Inc., 551 F. Supp. 3d 188 (S.D.N.Y. 2021). It also points to Rigsby's name on the footage, the WGXA branding, the same-day use, and the continued display after notice. It alleges, on information and belief, that the defendants lack adequate policies to verify copyright ownership before using content, or that their policies are not designed to do so or are systematically ignored. (Compl. paras. 31 to 36, 57 to 59.)

Counts and relief

The First Count alleges direct copyright infringement under 17 U.S.C. 501 against all defendants. The Second and Third Counts allege vicarious and contributory infringement against Sinclair, Inc., Sinclair Broadcast Group, LLC, and Sinclair Television Group, Inc., each pleaded in the alternative under Federal Rule of Civil Procedure 8(d)(2). The prayer seeks a finding of willful infringement; an award, jointly and severally, of actual damages and profits under 17 U.S.C. 504(b) or, at Rigsby's election, statutory damages under 17 U.S.C. 504(c), including enhanced damages for willfulness under 504(c)(2); an injunction under 17 U.S.C. 502(a) against any infringing use of any of Rigsby's works, directing removal of the Short from the account and any other website or platform the defendants control; costs and attorney's fees under 17 U.S.C. 505; and interest. The prayer itself states no dollar figure. In the First Count, the complaint says statutory damages may be enhanced to up to $150,000 for willful infringement under 504(c)(2), and it does not put a figure on actual damages or profits. (Compl. paras. 61 to 81, including para. 68; pp. 12 to 13.)