Elliot McGucken sues Antola Properties, alleging on information and belief that it displayed his landscape photograph on a Malibu community web page

The complaint

Elliot McGucken v. Antola Properties LLC, No. 2:26-cv-12999 (C.D. Cal.), was filed November 5, 2026, ECF No. 1 (8 pages). The plaintiff is Elliot McGucken, a landscape photographer residing in Los Angeles County, California. The named defendant is Antola Properties LLC, doing business as Antola Coastal Group, alleged on information and belief to be a California limited liability company doing business in the district, together with Does 1-10. The complaint pleads jurisdiction under 28 U.S.C. §§ 1331 and 1338(a) and (b), and venue under 28 U.S.C. §§ 1391(c) and 1400(a), and demands a jury trial.

What it alleges

McGucken alleges he created and owns the Subject Photograph, a landscape image depicted in the complaint, that he registered it with the United States Copyright Office, and that before the accused use he widely published it, including on his own website, social media, and in exhibitions, crediting him, and that he routinely published it with copyright management information identifying him as author and owner. He alleges, on information and belief, that after publication Antola Coastal reproduced and displayed the photograph without authorization for commercial benefit on its website, www.antolaproperties.com, and the complaint shows a screen capture of the use on the site's Malibu community page. He says he sent a cease-and-desist letter on or around February 3, 2026, and that the defendants failed to meaningfully respond. He alleges, on information and belief, that the defendants accessed the photograph through online and published sources and that the copying was willful.

The count and relief

The sole claim for relief is copyright infringement against all defendants. The complaint alleges, on information and belief, that the infringement was willful, intentional, and malicious, and cites statutory damages of up to $150,000 per infringement under 17 U.S.C. § 504(c)(2). The prayer seeks an injunction against infringing his copyrights, specifically in the Subject Photograph; the defendants' profits plus McGucken's losses or, if elected before final judgment, statutory damages under 17 U.S.C. § 504 and/or 17 U.S.C. § 1203; a trust over the revenues the defendants derived through the Infringing Use; attorneys' fees under 17 U.S.C. § 1203; an accounting; prejudgment interest; costs; and further relief.