RIAA Defendant Moves For Summary Judgment 117
Posted
by
timothy
from the element-of-surprise dept.
from the element-of-surprise dept.
NewYorkCountryLawyer writes "One thing you don't see too much of in RIAA litigation is a defendant moving for summary judgment, but that is what just occurred in federal court in Westchester, in Lava Records v. Amurao II. The RIAA had brought suit against Rolando Amurao, a middle aged man who knew nothing about file sharing. After haranguing him for 2 years, they dropped the case and sued his daughter, Audrey, who had used LimeWire years ago. When the RIAA moved for summary judgment against Audrey, however, she surprised them with a summary judgment motion of her own, calling for dismissal of the complaint on the grounds that the statute of limitations had run out on the RIAA's claims. The brief filed by her attorney (PDF) also points out some of the other infirmities in the RIAA's case, such as the inadmissibility of its evidence, the legal nonexistence of a claim for 'making available,' and the unconstitutionality of its damages theory. According to sources, the RIAA is unhappy about Audrey's motion, and is preparing a letter to send the Judge asking the Judge not to allow her to make it. Meanwhile, Audrey's father's case, Lava Records v. Rolando Amurao, is on appeal in the US Court of Appeals for the 2d Circuit over the issue of whether the RIAA should have to reimburse Mr. Amurao for his attorneys fees. Although the appeal was fully briefed and scheduled for argument May 19th, the RIAA has been asking for postponements of the argument."
Re:About That Letter .. (Score:5, Interesting)
I wish we had more info on what this "letter to the judge" thing means.
Curious interpretation of "the public" (Score:5, Interesting)
The distribution right encompasses distribution to the public. But song files which reside on a computer hard drive are only accessible to someone else who has the same file-sharing software.
Maybe "the public" has some special meaning in Lawyer Town, but the fact that file-sharing software is required to access shared files doesn't convince me personally that the files aren't available to the public. It's not as though there is some privileged minority of people who have access to file-sharing software. Anyone can download it.
Re:"Not to allow her to make it" (Score:5, Interesting)
hey ! i have evidence ! but i cant use it - why ? because IT IS DENIED BY APPLICATION OF THE OTHER PARTY.
Don't worry. There is no way on God's green earth that the judge would even consider precluding Ms. Amurao from making a cross-motion for summary judgment. That would be the most flagrant kind of appealable order. The RIAA lawyers' request that Ms. Amurao's cross-motion not be considered by the Court will be denied.
The pricing seems different: $750/song (Score:3, Interesting)
I note that this case claims a "mere" USD 750 per infringement. This is an interesting low amount.
Other than that, when-oh-when will we finally see sanctions for this sort of legal abuse? I can't see anyone regaining any sort of respect for the law and the legal system whilst this sort of shenanigans continue.