Lieberman v. Estate of Chayefsky

OPINION

SAND, District Judge.

This instant action is a dispute over the ownership of the copyrights to the novel and screenplay entitled “Altered States”. The defendant, Paddy Chayefsky, 1 initially moved to dismiss for lack of subject matter jurisdiction, pursuant to Fed.R.Civ.P. 12(b)(1) and 12(h)(3), on the theory that the plaintiff’s claims did not arise under federal law. See 28 U.S.C. §§ 1338 and 1331. On the return date of this motion, decision was deferred pending completion of relevant discovery and without prejudice to renewal of the motion. Although the defendant has not renewed the…