Global Media Network; William Scales v. YouTube Music

Background

On September 11, 2025, the court barred William Scales from filing future civil actions without paying filing fees in this court, either in his own name or in the names of his companies, unless he first obtained the court's permission to file. The opinion states that this restriction took effect on July 23, 2025. The opinion cites a prior related proceeding involving Global Media Network and Pandora.

Scales then filed this action in his own name and in the name of Global Media Network. He filed without a lawyer, did not seek permission to file, and did not pay the filing fees. Because the fees were unpaid, the court assumed for purposes of this order that he was seeking to proceed without paying them. The court also stated that Global Media Network could not proceed without a lawyer or seek that fee waiver. The court had previously warned Scales that filing lawsuits for companies without a lawyer could lead to additional filing restrictions.

Ruling

The court dismissed the action without prejudice because Scales failed to comply with the earlier filing-restriction order. “Without prejudice” means the dismissal itself does not bar a later filing, although the restrictions described in the order still apply. The court directed the clerk to enter judgment.

The court separately certified under 28 U.S.C. § 1915(a)(3) that an appeal would not be taken in good faith and denied permission to proceed without paying appellate fees. The opinion does not decide the underlying claims against YouTube Music.

Classification basis

This is a procedural order because the court dismissed the action for failure to comply with a filing restriction and did not reach the merits of the claims.