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Class Action Suit Against RIAA Can Proceed

Posted by Zonk on from the nothing-but-net dept.

fourohfour writes "Ars Technica is running a story on Tanya Andersen, who was awarded attorney fees in September of last year after the RIAA dropped their case against her. The RIAA subsequently appealed that award, but a US District Court judge yesterday not only upheld the award, but also upheld the dismissal of her counterclaims without prejudice. They may now be heard as part of a malicious prosecution lawsuit against the RIAA. Andersen is seeking class action status for her lawsuit, so that anyone else who has not engaged in illegal file sharing but has been threatened with legal action by the RIAA may join in. This is the case that alleges that the RIAA attempted to contact Andersen's then eight-year-old daughter under false pretenses without her permission."

4 of 133 comments (clear)

  1. oohhh yeeesss... but... by blind+biker · · Score: 5, Interesting

    I was waiting for this to happen, and finally, it did. Now, my mind races forward, to the end of the suit, maybe decades ahead: up to how much money can the RIAA be held accountable for? What I mean is, how much money can they be fined till they are bankrupt? Can (or should) the RIAA member companies actually pay the fine - in which case we're talking much larger sums?

    --
    "The agriculture ministry is not in charge of Gundam" - Japanese ministry official.
    1. Re:oohhh yeeesss... but... by Gat0r30y · · Score: 5, Interesting

      Can (or should) the RIAA member companies actually pay the fine - in which case we're talking much larger sums?
      This is a great question. Will the member companies use the RIAA like an umbrella company saying that the liability is the RIAA's or will they take responsibility for filing these frivolous suits?
      More to the point, these suits are filed as Record Label vs. some poor joe not as RIAA vs. right? This case is Atlantic vs. Anderson, is Atlantic responsible for the damages? It would certainly seem to me that the RIAA cant claim all the liability when Atlantic's name is on the suit. Any Lawyers out there who know whether the RIAA can be used as an umbrella to protect the label from liability in this kind of litigation?
      --
      Prediction: The real iPhone killer is going to be sex robots from Japan. Think about it.
  2. Forget the end result by riseoftheindividual · · Score: 5, Interesting

    This is going to be the best litigation show on slashdot since the Sco vs. Novell chronicles.

    --
    Patriot - A fan of expanding government power and spending while not wanting to pay higher taxes.
  3. Is it too much to hope for criminal charges? by iamacat · · Score: 5, Interesting

    Contacting children for legal or financial matters without consent and presence of a legal guardian should carry mandatory jail time for those responsible, at least if their age was apparent at the time of the transaction. It's easy to see how an 8 year old can be persuades to give out parents' credit card numbers, incriminate themselves needlessly, give false testimony in exchange for promise of a shiny new gadget and otherwise be exploited by a malicious adult. This is a far more serious matter than copyright infringement which only results in a financial loss of trivial amounts of money.