Bill Joiner v. Channel 5 Lawsuit, Everything That’s Happened So Far

Andrew Callaghan says his media company Channel 5 could go dark indefinitely after being sued for a second time by the same man — private lender William “Bill” Joiner. The dispute traces back to Channel 5’s 2025 documentary Dear Kelly, and it just escalated from a federal case to a new state court complaint. Here’s the full picture, pulled from court filings and Callaghan’s own statements.

Who Is Bill Joiner, and Why Is He Suing Channel 5?

William Joiner is a private lender based in California. He’s not a public figure by trade — he became one because Kelly Johnson, the subject of Channel 5’s documentary Dear Kelly, names him repeatedly in the film. Johnson, who also goes by “Kelly J. Patriot,” alleges that around 2007, he took a $100,000 loan connected to Joiner and that Joiner used falsified paperwork and a fraudulent notice of default to foreclose on his multi-million dollar home during the 2008 financial crisis. Johnson lost his law license, his marriage, and his home in the years that followed, and the film traces how that loss pushed him toward far-right conspiracy theories, including claims he participated in the January 6 Capitol riot.

Andrew Callaghan first met Johnson at a 2021 White Lives Matter rally in Huntington Beach, California, where Johnson brought up Joiner and his foreclosure story unprompted. Callaghan spent roughly four years following Johnson’s story before Dear Kelly was released in January 2025.

The First Lawsuit: Federal Court, May 2024

Joiner filed a federal complaint before Dear Kelly was even fully released — case number 8:24-cv-01160, in the U.S. District Court for the Central District of California, before Judge Consuelo B. Marshall and Magistrate Judge Karen L. Stevenson. Joiner sued Callaghan, Channel 5 LLC, co-directors Evan Gilbert-Katz and Nicolas Mosher, and Kelly Johnson himself.

The core claims were federal Wiretap Act violations and privacy violations — essentially, that the Channel 5 team illegally recorded Joiner’s electronic communications, along with additional state-law claims. Callaghan has consistently denied ever wiretapping Joiner, and he said forensic investigators who examined Channel 5’s servers found no evidence supporting the wiretapping claim.

Channel 5’s attorneys also filed a special motion to strike Joiner’s state-law claims under California’s anti-SLAPP statute, arguing the documentary’s subject matter was protected free speech on a matter of public interest.

How the First Case Ended

The federal case ended on May 19, 2026, when both sides filed a joint stipulation dismissing it without prejudice. Neither side was named the prevailing party, and each covered its own legal costs. Callaghan has described this as Joiner’s attorneys dropping the case before trial — but “without prejudice” specifically means Joiner retains the right to refile the underlying claims, which is exactly what happened next.

The Second Lawsuit: California State Court, July 2026

Callaghan says he was served with a new complaint on July 9, 2026, this time filed in California state court. According to Callaghan, the new filing keeps a modified version of the original claims and adds allegations of defamation, stalking, false light, and trespassing. The exact state court and case number haven’t been published in coverage of the case yet.

Callaghan announced the new lawsuit publicly in a July 10 YouTube video titled “We’re Being Sued.” His statement: “After speaking with a couple of different attorneys, it doesn’t seem like the second round is going to be any cheaper than the first. I can’t afford it. This is not a drill. We cannot afford to keep operations running here at Channel 5 unless we can immediately fundraise the legal fees.”

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The Financial Stakes for Channel 5

Callaghan says the first lawsuit alone cost Channel 5 more than $800,000 to defend. He’s launched a GoFundMe with a matching $800,000 goal to cover the second round. As of this writing, that campaign has raised more than $1.2 million.

Channel 5 makes its money through Patreon subscriptions, merchandise, and advertising rather than outside investment, according to Callaghan. The company currently employs 10 full-time staff and runs a newsroom in Mexico City. Without successful fundraising, Callaghan said the company would need to close that newsroom, lay off staff, and go on indefinite hiatus, sustained only by passive Patreon income. He said the alternative — selling a stake to a corporate investor — would conflict with what he’s described as Channel 5’s independent mission.

What Target — Sorry, What Channel 5 Has Said Publicly

Callaghan has denied the wiretapping allegations from the outset and has characterized both lawsuits as attempts to suppress the documentary’s story. He’s made the film available for a free 48-hour rental at dearkellyfilm.com using a promotional code, framing it as a way for the public to judge the film’s content directly.

What This Case Is Really About

Strip away the procedural history, and this dispute sits at an intersection that comes up a lot in documentary filmmaking: where does reporting on a private individual’s role in a public story cross into wiretapping, stalking, or defamation? Joiner’s position is that he’s a private citizen who never consented to being investigated, recorded, or portrayed in a nationally distributed film. Channel 5’s position is that Joiner’s role in Johnson’s foreclosure was part of a story of public interest, and that its reporting is protected speech. Neither side has proven its case in court yet — the anti-SLAPP motion in the federal case was still being litigated when that case was dismissed, and the new state complaint hasn’t been answered.

Case Snapshot

Detail	Information
Case 1 (Dismissed)	William Joiner v. Channel 5 LLC, et al., No. 8:24-cv-01160, C.D. Cal.
Case 1 Filed	May 30, 2024
Case 1 Ended	May 19, 2026, joint stipulation of dismissal without prejudice
Case 2 (Active)	Joiner v. Channel 5 LLC, et al., California state court
Case 2 Case Number	UNVERIFIED — not yet published
Case 2 Served	July 9, 2026
Claims in Case 2	Defamation, stalking, false light, trespassing, modified privacy claims
Settlement Status	No settlement in either case

Timeline

Date	Event
~2007	Johnson allegedly takes a $100,000 loan connected to Joiner
2008	Johnson’s home is foreclosed during the financial crisis
2021	Callaghan meets Kelly Johnson at a Huntington Beach rally
May 30, 2024	Joiner files federal lawsuit against Callaghan, Channel 5, and others
January 2025	Dear Kelly is released
May 19, 2026	Federal case dismissed without prejudice by joint stipulation
July 9, 2026	Joiner serves a new complaint in California state court
July 10, 2026	Callaghan announces the new lawsuit and launches a GoFundMe

Frequently Asked Questions

Is this a class action lawsuit? 

No. This is an individual civil dispute between Bill Joiner and Channel 5/Andrew Callaghan. There’s no class, claim form, or public settlement fund involved.

Did Channel 5 win the first lawsuit? 

Not exactly. The case was dismissed by joint stipulation with neither side named the prevailing party, and it was dismissed without prejudice — meaning Joiner kept the right to refile, which he did.

What is Channel 5 asking the public for? 

Callaghan launched a GoFundMe seeking $800,000 to cover legal costs for the new state court case, matching what he says the first federal case cost.

Has a court ruled on whether the documentary is protected speech?

 Not conclusively. Channel 5 filed an anti-SLAPP motion arguing the film’s subject matter was protected speech on a public issue, but that motion wasn’t resolved before the federal case was dismissed.

Is Kelly Johnson, the documentary’s subject, a defendant too? 

Yes, in the original federal complaint, Kelly Johnson was named alongside Callaghan and Channel 5.

Where can I watch Dear Kelly?

 Callaghan made it available for a free 48-hour rental through dearkellyfilm.com with a promotional code, as part of publicizing the new lawsuit.

Sources

• Complex — Channel 5 Faces Shutdown After Second Lawsuit, Andrew Callaghan Launches GoFundMe: https://www.complex.com/pop-culture/a/treyalston/channel-5-lawsuit-gofundme-andrew-callaghan
• PacerMonitor federal docket — William Joiner v. Channel 5 LLC et al, No. 8:24-cv-01160: https://www.pacermonitor.com/public/case/53731975/William_Joiner_v_Channel_5_LLC_et_al

This article is for informational purposes only and does not constitute legal advice. The claims described in both the federal and state complaints are allegations only and have not been proven in court.