Vickie M. Stringer v. Simon & Schuster, Inc.

District Court, S.D. New York·Decided September 4, 2025·No. 1:25-cv-00670·Unknown

Opinion

UNITED STATES DISTRICT COURT 9/4/2025 SOUTHERN DISTRICT OF NEW YORK VICKIE M. STRINGER, Plaintiff, 1:25-cv-0670 MKV -against- ORDER DENYING TEMPORARY RESTRAINING ORDER, SIMON & SCHUSTER, INC., PRELIMINARY INJUNCTION & MOTION TO COMPEL Defendant. MARY KAY VYSKOCIL, United States District Judge: On January 21, 2025, Plaintiffs Vickie M. Stringer proceeding pro se,1 commenced this 0F action by filing a complaint against Simon & Schuster, Inc. regarding the use and distribution of a series of books written by Ms. Stringer. [ECF No. 1 (“Compl.”)]. More than four months later, Plaintiff filed a motion seeking a temporary restraining order (“TRO”) enjoining Defendant from “continuing to reproduce, distribute, license, or profit from Plaintiff’s copyrighted works in violation of her exclusive rights and in breach of terminated publishing agreements.” [ECF No. 24 at 1 (“First Mot.”)]. Soon after, Plaintiff filed a motion to compel production of a contract involving the book Dirty Red, and a motion to strike Defendant’s answer and affirmative defenses. [ECF Nos. 27, 28]. The Court denied each motion, denying the motion for a TRO for failure to show irreparable harm. [ECF No. 32]. Thereafter, Defendant requested leave to file a motion to dismiss and moved to stay discovery pending the resolution of the anticipated motion to dismiss. [ECF No. 52]. Plaintiff thereafter, filed in rapid succession a request for leave to file a motion in limine to exclude certain evidence, a second motion to compel production of a contract regarding the book Dirty Red, which was the subject of Plaintiff’s prior unsuccessful motion to compel, and a memorandum of law in 1 Other parties named in the original complaint were dropped from subsequent amended complaints. support of her claims and a motion for sanctions and reversion of rights. [ECF Nos. 58, 59 (“Second Mot. to Compel”), 61 (“Memorandum for Sanctions and Reversal of Rights”)]. Plaintiff’s Memorandum for Sanctions and Reversal of Rights requested that the Court declare the publishing agreements between the parties were “null and void” and required “immediate

reversion of all rights to Plaintiff.” See Memorandum for Sanctions and Reversal of Rights The Court granted Defendant leave to file a motion to dismiss, granted the stay of discovery, and granted Plaintiff leave to amend the operative complaint to address the deficiencies identified in Defendant’s pre-motion letter. [ECF No. 62]. The Court denied each of Defendant’s then-pending motions, denying the second motion to compel for the same reasons the prior motion to compel was denied and because discovery had been stayed. [ECF No. 62]. The Court construed Plaintiff’s Memorandum for Sanctions and Reversal of Rights as a second motion for a temporary restraining order and denied the motion for failure to allege irreparable harm. [ECF No. 62]. Plaintiff thereafter filed the operative complaint, titled “Third Amended Complaint” alleging claims—breach of contract, willful copyright infringement, vicarious copyright infringement, and fraudulent concealment.2 [ECF No. 64 (“Third Amended Complaint” or “TAC”) 1F 64-1, 64-2, 64-3 (“TAC Exs.”)]. During briefing of the motion to dismiss, and with leave of the Court, Plaintiff filed a third motion for a temporary restraining order requiring Defendant to “[c]ease all distribution, sales, and licensing of Plaintiff's titles including ‘Let That Be the Reason,’ ‘Still Dirty,’ ‘Dirty Red,’ ‘Imagine This,’ ‘The Reason Why,’ and ‘Dirtier Than Ever’ pending discovery to determine the full scope of unauthorized use and revenue concealment.” [ECF Nos. 72, 803 (“Pl. Mem.”)]. Plaintiff filed a declaration with appended exhibits in support of her motion. 2F

2 The Third Amended Complaint separately describes “Lanham Act Trademark Violations.” TAC ¶¶ 33–40. 3 Plaintiff was granted leave to refile the motion to correct the poor image in the initial filing. [ECF No. 78]. [ECF Nos. 72, 80 (“Stringer Decl.”)]. Defendant opposed the motion and also filed a declaration with appended exhibits in support of its opposition. [ECF No. 81 (“Def. Opp.”), 81-1 (“Lopez Decl.”)]. Plaintiff also filed a pre-motion letter seeking leave to file a third motion to compel production of the contract regarding the book Dirty Red which was the subject of both of Plaintiff’s

prior motions to compel, or in the alternative a motion to strike Defendant’s references to the contract. [ECF No. 71 (“Pre-motion Ltr.”)]. Thereafter, Plaintiff filed a letter advising the Court that she intended her third motion for a TRO to be understood as a motion for both a TRO and a preliminary injunction. [ECF No. 82]. For the reasons discussed below Plaintiff’s third motion for a TRO, motion for a preliminary injunction and request to file a third motion to compel are DENIED. DISCUSSION I. Motion for TRO and Preliminary Injunction Plaintiff filed a letter a week after she filed a motion seeking only a TRO, requesting that the Court construe the TRO motion as seeking both a TRO and preliminary injunction. [ECF No.

82]. The Court will construe the motion as such, though Plaintiff’s request is untimely, because the standards for granting a both motions are the same. See, e.g., J.Z. v. New York City Dep’t of Educ., 281 F. Supp. 3d 352, 359 (S.D.N.Y. 2017) (“The standards for granting a temporary restraining order and preliminary injunction are the same.”); compare Moore v. Consol. Edison Co. of New York, 409 F.3d 506, 510 (2d Cir. 2005) (stating the standard for granting a preliminary injunction) with HarperCollins Publishers L.L.C. v. Gawker Media LLC, 721 F. Supp. 2d 303, 306 (S.D.N.Y. 2010) (stating the standard for granting a temporary restraining order). The Court recognizes that Plaintiff is proceeding pro se and as such the Court must “liberally construe” documents submitted by Plaintiff. McLeod v. Jewish Guild for the Blind, 864 F.3d 154, 156 (2d Cir. 2017); see also Sharikov v. Philips Med. Sys. MR, Inc., 103 F.4th 159, 166 (2d Cir. 2024) (pro se pleadings and briefs are “interpreted to raise the strongest claims they suggest”); Koger v. Richardson, 858 F. App'x 425, 425 (2d Cir. 2021) (summary order) (holding that courts must afford pro se plaintiffs “special solicitude” in reviewing their filings). However,

this leniency afforded to pro se plaintiffs does not “exempt a party from compliance with relevant rules of procedural and substantive law.” Triestman v. Fed. Bureau of Prisons, 470 F.3d 471, 477 (2d Cir. 2006). To obtain a temporary restraining order and/or preliminary injunction, a party must demonstrate that she is likely to suffer irreparable harm in the absence of preliminary relief, that she is likely to succeed on the merits, that the balance of equities tips in her favor, and that an injunction is in the public interest. See Basank v. Decker, 449 F. Supp. 3d 205, 210 (S.D.N.Y. 2020). If the Court “cannot determine with certainty that the moving party is more likely than not to prevail on the merits of the underlying claims,” it may grant a temporary restraining order when the other elements are met, there are “serious questions going to the merits” of the case, and “the

costs outweigh the benefits of not granting the injunction.” State Farm Mut. Auto. Ins. Co. v. Tri- Borough NY Med. Prac. P.C., 120 F.4th 59, 82–83 (2d Cir. 2024). A temporary restraining order “is an extraordinary and drastic remedy, one that should not be granted unless the movant, by a clear showing, carries the burden of persuasion.” Moore v. Consol. Edison Co. of New York, 409 F.3d 506, 510 (2d Cir. 2005) (quoting Mazurek v. Armstrong, 520 U.S. 968, 972 (1997)). A preliminary injunction may be either prohibitory or mandatory. N. American Soccer League, LLC v. United States Soccer Fed’n, Inc., 883 F.3d 32, 36 (2d Cir. 2018). “Prohibitory injunctions maintain the status quo pending resolution of the case; mandatory injunctions alter it.” Id.

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Vickie M. Stringer v. Simon & Schuster, Inc., (S.D.N.Y. 2025).

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