The complaint
Sullivan v. Fox News Network, LLC et al., No. 2:26-cv-00852 (D. Utah, Central Division), was filed September 14, 2026, ECF No. 1 (117 pages). Sullivan, representing himself, sues Fox News Network, LLC d/b/a Fox News Channel, Fox Corporation, and ten individuals named in their individual and corporate capacities. A September 15, 2026 docket entry assigns the case to Judge Howard C. Nielson, Jr., with Magistrate Judge Cecilia M. Romero referred under 28 U.S.C. § 636(b)(1)(B).
The work
Sullivan alleges he owns the motion picture The Insurrection of The United States Capitol, first published January 6, 2021, and registered under Registration Certificate No. PA 2-585-152. The Copyright Office public record lists the title with John Earle Sullivan as claimant. He alleges excerpts carry his on-screen JAYDEN X watermark.
What the lawsuit alleges
Sullivan alleges the defendants displayed unauthorized excerpts of his footage in linear broadcasts, behind a paywall, and in digital articles and videos, and that they removed or altered his copyright management information. Counts I and II plead direct copyright infringement for the broadcast and digital uses; Count III pleads removal and alteration of copyright management information under 17 U.S.C. § 1202; Count IV pleads contributory and vicarious infringement. Counts V through IX plead defamation per se, false light, intentional interference with prospective economic advantage, and civil conspiracy under Utah law.
On the docket
Sullivan moved to proceed in forma pauperis and for service of process on September 14, 2026. On October 22, 2026, he filed an emergency motion to expedite rulings on those motions and related service issues, referred to Magistrate Judge Romero, and a request to submit it for decision. No ruling on those motions appears on the docket through October 30, 2026.