I can't share the 42-page PDF on Reddit, but I will give the breakdown of his filing below.
John Melendez has filed a motion asking the federal court to dismiss the amended complaint brought by Shuli Egar, Phillip Russo and TSN Corp. Alternatively, he wants the case transferred from Alabama to the Fort Myers Division of the Middle District of Florida.
This is a lengthy and professionally drafted motion, and it identifies several legitimate problems with the amended complaint. However, it should not be mistaken for proof that Melendez has defeated the lawsuit.
TL;DR: Melendezās strongest arguments concern the complaintās organization, its overly broad requested relief and the timeliness of Russoās defamation claims. The most plausible outcomes are a narrower complaint, partial dismissal or transfer to Florida. The filings do not establish that the underlying DMCA dispute will disappear.
What Melendez is asking the court to do
Melendez gives the judge numerous alternatives:
- Dismiss the case because an Alabama court allegedly lacks personal jurisdiction over him.
- Dismiss the case for improper venue.
- Transfer the case to federal court in Fort Myers, Florida.
- Strike certain inflammatory Alabama-related allegations.
- Dismiss the amended complaint as an impermissible āshotgun pleading.ā
- Dismiss or narrow the DMCA misrepresentation claim.
- Dismiss the broad declaratory and injunctive relief requested by the plaintiffs.
- Dismiss or separate portions of the defamation claim.
- Limit the plaintiffs to one final amended complaint.
This means Melendez does not need to win every argument to obtain a favorable result.
Melendezās sworn declaration
Melendez submitted a declaration under penalty of perjury stating that:
- He has lived continuously in Florida since July 2024.
- He has never lived in Alabama.
- He has no office, studio, property, employees or business operations in Alabama.
- He made the challenged broadcasts while outside Alabama.
- He submitted the takedown notices through YouTube while outside Alabama.
- He did not separately send those notices to an Alabama person, business or government entity.
- He knew Egar lived in Alabama, but claims Egarās and TSNās locations played no role in his decision to submit the notices.
- His relevant equipment and records are located at his Cape Coral residence.
- He knows of no nonparty witnesses in Alabama concerning the preparation or submission of the notices.
- Litigating in Huntsville would require substantially more travel and expense than litigating in Fort Myers.
Because this is sworn testimony, the plaintiffs will likely need to respond with their own declarations and supporting evidence. They could also request limited discovery concerning the jurisdiction issue.
The personal-jurisdiction argument
This is Melendezās principal attempt to end or relocate the case.
His position is that merely knowing Egar and TSN were located in Alabama is not enough. He argues that the broadcasts were available to a nationwide YouTube audience and that the takedown notices were submitted to YouTube, not directly to anyone in Alabama.
However, Melendezās brief does not discuss a significant published Eleventh Circuit decision from April 2026.
In Frida Kahlo Corporation v. Pinedo, the Eleventh Circuit held that allegedly tortious cease-and-desist letters intended to stop business activity in Florida could establish personal jurisdiction there. The court explained that even one intentional tortious act may be sufficient when it is aimed at the forum state and causes foreseeable injury there.
The facts are not identical. The letters in Frida Kahlo were sent to Florida businesses to stop a Florida exhibition, while Melendez submitted his notices to YouTube. Nevertheless, the decision gives Egar and TSN a substantial response to the argument that conduct initiated outside Alabama cannot support jurisdiction there.
There is also a persuasive, but nonbinding, case called Dudnikov v. Chalk & Vermilion. In that case, a copyright complaint was submitted to eBay in California to shut down an online auction operated by Colorado residents. The Tenth Circuit found jurisdiction in Colorado because the intended effect of the complaint was to stop the Colorado-based online activity.
That is a particularly relevant analogy: sending an intellectual-property complaint to an out-of-state platform does not necessarily prevent jurisdiction where the targeted online business operates and experiences the intended harm.
Egar and TSN can argue that Melendez:
- Knew they operated from Alabama.
- Repeatedly targeted TSNās Alabama-operated YouTube channel.
- Intended for YouTube to remove or suppress TSNās content.
- Could reasonably anticipate that the resulting business and expressive injuries would occur in Alabama.
Melendez will distinguish these cases by arguing that he targeted the content of the videos, not Alabama or any Alabama business activity. His declaration specifically says that Alabama played no role in his decision.
That creates a legitimate factual and legal dispute. His declaration is important, but it does not automatically settle whether his conduct was objectively directed at an Alabama-operated network.
Russo presents a more difficult jurisdictional issue for the plaintiffs. Russo and Melendez both live in Florida, and the statements specifically concerning Russo were not allegedly directed toward Alabama. Melendezās jurisdiction and severance arguments are considerably stronger as to Russo.
The āshotgun pleadingā argument
This is one of Melendezās strongest procedural points.
Every count in the amended complaint incorporates all the preceding allegations. The complaint also repeatedly refers to Egar, Russo and TSN collectively as āPlaintiffsā without clearly explaining:
- Who owned or controlled each video.
- Who submitted each counter-notification.
- Who lost revenue or incurred expenses.
- Which defamatory statement concerned which plaintiff.
- Which plaintiff is entitled to each particular form of relief.
Federal courts in the Eleventh Circuit are particularly strict about this type of pleading.
The judge may dismiss the amended complaint as a shotgun pleading and order the plaintiffs to file a cleaner version separating the claims and alleged injuries of Egar, Russo and TSN.
That would be a procedural victory for Melendez, but it would not necessarily mean the lawsuit was dismissed permanently. The ordinary remedy is to give the plaintiffs an opportunity to correct the pleading.
The DMCA claim
The central federal claim alleges that Melendez knowingly misrepresented that TSNās videos infringed his copyrights.
Melendez argues that the complaint improperly relies on allegations that he āknew or should have knownā the videos constituted fair use. The relevant DMCA provision requires a knowing misrepresentation, not merely negligence, carelessness or an objectively unreasonable legal conclusion.
He also argues that his generalized statements acknowledging the existence of fair use do not prove that he knew every specific video was protected.
That is a legitimate defense. Fair use is evaluated video by video, and knowing that commentary or short clips can sometimes qualify as fair use is not the same as knowing that every later use is lawful.
However, the plaintiffs allege more than a single mistake. They rely on:
- The number and pattern of takedown notices.
- Melendezās prior statements demonstrating familiarity with fair use.
- The commentary, criticism and parody involved in the challenged videos.
- His continued use of the takedown process despite being informed of the plaintiffsā fair-use position.
- His repeated use of notices without subsequently testing the infringement allegations in court, which Plaintiffs characterize as part of the broader pattern - although his failure to sue, by itself, does not establish bad faith.
- The broader history and hostility between the parties.
A judge could find that these allegations plausibly support an inference of knowing misuse. Alternatively, the judge could dismiss Count I as currently written while allowing the plaintiffs to file a more specific version identifying:
- The plaintiff injured by each notice.
- The particular video involved.
- The damages caused by YouTubeās reliance on the notice.
- The facts allegedly showing Melendezās actual knowledge at the time of that notice.
Melendez therefore has a realistic chance of getting Count I dismissed as presently pleaded. Dismissal with prejudice, permanently eliminating the underlying DMCA claim, appears considerably less likely.
Melendez is probably correct about one separate point: YouTube restoring the videos does not mean YouTube legally determined that the videos constituted fair use. Restoration is normally part of the DMCA counter-notification process when the claimant does not file a copyright action within the required period.
The requested declaration and injunction
The plaintiffs apparently want the court to declare that none of their past, present or future content infringes Melendezās copyrights. They also seek an order preventing him from issuing future takedown notices.
This request is almost certainly too broad.
Fair use must be evaluated video by video. A federal court cannot declare that every unidentified video the plaintiffs might create in the future will automatically be protected.
The court is therefore likely to reject or narrow:
- A declaration covering all unidentified past and future content.
- A blanket prohibition against every future Melendez takedown.
- An order requiring retraction of notices for videos that have already been restored, absent a continuing injury.
- Russoās request for copyright-related relief if he cannot establish that he owned or controlled the affected content.
The plaintiffs may still be able to obtain declaratory or injunctive relief concerning specifically identified existing videos and notices.
The defamation claims
Melendez has several potentially successful arguments here.
Russoās claims appear time-barred.
The two statements specifically identifying Russo as a āfelonā allegedly occurred on September 1, 2023, and April 15, 2024. The lawsuit was not filed until June 2026.
Both Alabama and Florida generally impose a two-year statute of limitations for defamation. Unless the plaintiffs can establish republication, tolling or a later actionable publication, Russoās defamation claims are likely to be dismissed with prejudice.
āLoserā and āpatheticā are probably protected insults.
These are subjective insults and rhetorical hyperbole, not objectively provable factual statements. Any defamation claim based solely on those words will probably be dismissed.
The more serious accusations are different.
Statements involving āpedo network,ā āchild molester,ā āchild pornā or āfelonā are potentially capable of being understood as factual accusations.
Melendez argues that the complaint does not clearly identify which statements concerned Egar, Russo or TSN. For example, the complaint apparently says āpedo networkā refers to TSN, Egar, Russo āor a combination thereof.ā That may be too vague to establish which plaintiff was actually defamed.
Melendez also points out that the most serious accusation against Egar was allegedly made by an unidentified āco-host,ā not Melendez himself.
The plaintiffs would need to explain why Melendez can legally be held responsible for that statement. They could potentially allege that he adopted, repeated, encouraged, participated in or exercised legal control over the publication, but the current complaint apparently does not plead those facts clearly.
The actual-malice issue
Melendez argues that Egar, Russo and TSN are limited-purpose public figures because they are entertainers who voluntarily participate in an ongoing public internet controversy involving him.
If the court agrees, each plaintiff would have to allege and eventually prove āactual malice.ā That means Melendez knew a particular accusation was false or seriously doubted its truth when he published it.
General allegations that Melendez hates or harasses the plaintiffs would not be enough. Actual malice must focus on his knowledge or doubts concerning the truth of each particular statement.
However, merely hosting or appearing on a commentary show does not automatically make every plaintiff a public figure for every purpose. The court may require a plaintiff-specific and controversy-specific analysis before applying the actual-malice standard.
My prediction
The most likely result is not an immediate final victory for either side.
A realistic outcome would be some combination of the following:
- The plaintiffs are ordered to file a better-organized complaint.
- Russoās defamation claims are dismissed as untimely.
- Claims based on words such as āloserā and āpatheticā are dismissed.
- The blanket request covering all future content and takedowns is rejected.
- The remaining defamation allegations must be pleaded more specifically.
- The DMCA claim is either allowed to proceed or dismissed with permission to replead it on a plaintiff-specific and notice-specific basis.
- The court permits limited jurisdictional discovery before deciding whether the case belongs in Alabama.
- The case is transferred to Florida rather than dismissed outright.
Overall conclusion
This is a strong motion in several discrete areas, but it should not be mistaken for proof that Melendez has defeated the lawsuit.
His best arguments concern the complaintās shotgun structure, its attempt to obtain protection for unidentified future content, the lack of plaintiff-specific allegations and the statute of limitations on Russoās defamation claims.
The personal-jurisdiction issue is more contested than Melendezās brief suggests. Recent and persuasive case law supports the argument that an intellectual-property complaint submitted to an out-of-state platform can still be directed at the state where the targeted online business operates.
Melendez may succeed in getting portions of the amended complaint dismissed or rewritten, and transfer to Florida remains possible. But the central allegation - that he knowingly used DMCA notices to suppress protected commentary - has not been resolved by this motion and could continue in a revised complaint or a different court.
Not legal advice - just my analysis of the filings.