NYCL Responds to RIAA Accusations

NewYorkCountryLawyer writes "You may recall that when the RIAA decided to run away with its tail between its legs in the long running Brooklyn case against a home health aide who has never used a computer, UMG v. Lindor, it decided to take some parting shots at the defendant and NewYorkCountryLawyer, asking for 'discovery sanctions,' and blaming them for its inability to prove its case. Today NYCL gave them his response, accusing the RIAA lawyers of persistent misstatements of fact (PDF) throughout their motion papers, and of flouting the rules and misstating the law (PDF). Although the RIAA's motion papers took a number of shots at NYCL's copyright law blog, 'Recording Industry vs. The People,' NYCL confined his response on that subject to a single footnote."

Comments

pettyness

[girlintraining]

This kind of behavior is the lawyer equivalent of turning the lights off while someone else is in the bathroom. They probably left the toilet seat up too. Grr. Argh... wet socks.

Third Person

[Anonymous Coward]

NYCL writes in third person? Anonymous coward approves.

Re:Third Person

[NewYorkCountryLawyer]

Why haven't we seen NYCL here for a while? Court gag order or something?

I submitted 2 stories on October 28th, one of which got accepted, one of which got rejected. Since then there just hasn't been any Slashdot-worthy RIAA litigation news.

Re:Third Person

[NewYorkCountryLawyer]

moderation in your submittals is what makes me read every one you post

Thank you. I appreciate that.

I try to keep in mind the distinction between my blog and my Slashdot submissions.

In my blog, I just try to give complete information, so that lawyers representing defendants won't get caught off guard by anything that happens and will have a full set of legal resources to use in preparing their own arguments and legal documents. I.e. I post things that aren't really surprising or newsworthy, but they're just useful information to have in one place.

My Slashdot submissions are confined to things that I think the world should know about. However, Slashdot's editors don't always agree with my assessment and more of my submissions are rejected than submitted.

One thing I try to do, which I see in Groklaw, but nowhere else in the news world, is to give people access to the actual legal documents, so they can make up their minds for themselves. I hate reading news articles about legal events where the articles do not share with the reader copies of any of the underlying documents. In this day and age, where almost all federal litigation is electronic and there are *pdf files of every document, I feel there is no excuse for holding back on that.

Footnote

[phantomfive]

In case anyone is wondering what the footnote actually said, here it is on page 17 of umg_lindor_081110DeclarationRB.pdf.

I decline to enter into a point-by-point rejoinder in defense of my modest foray into "blogging". Suffice it to say that (a) my law blog is irrelevant to the motion, (b) plaintiffs' counsel themselves rely upon the blog in the course of their legal work....(c) many in-house university counsels and student legal services offices refer their students to it ....... (d) many law schools and colleges use it in their curricula ..... (e) many reputable organizations have found the views expressed in it to be worthy of further in-depth consideration...... (f) it has been cited in law review articles.....(g) plaintiffs' counsel are not candid about their real problem with the blog, which is that its existence interferes with their tactic of attempting to conceal the litigation events and prior inconsistent statements they don't want others to know about, from judges, litigants, and law enforcement authorities

Emphasis mine. He then goes on to give a specific example of why the RIAA hates his blog, basically because it exposes the stupid things they do to the world.

Must be a fun job to use the law to destroy evil. Kind of like that old movie The Rainmaker. If I were Ray Beckerman, I would feel like I were in a movie.

Re:Footnote

[BSAtHome]

The RIAA fiasco gets more entertaining all the time. The more they lose, the funnier it gets.

I disagree that the cases are "funny". The recklessness expressed by the RIAA lawyers and the utter lack of common sense and decency in both professional and private conduct are disturbing. Please remember that the "accused" are scarred for life. Even if all wrongfully sued people get fully compensated, they still lose out because they have been stressed, bashed and abused.

Re:Footnote

[phantomfive]

Being stressed, bashed, scarred, and abused is part of life. Everyone has to deal with it. That happens whether you have the RIAA or not. Having a chance to watch the ones doing the abuse get their just results, if not necessarily humorous, is very satisfying.

Re:Footnote

[_Sprocket_]

Being stressed, bashed, scarred, and abused is part of life.

Death is also a part of life. Yet we try to avoid it when possible and take a dim view on anyone forcing it on to others.

One man army?

[Anonymous Coward]

Here's a guy who has single handedly changed my opinion of lawyers. Certianly he has friends here, I'd give him a dollar. But at the same time his existence speaks badly of other lawyers. The question is: Why are there not more like him? We all recognise the RIAA are effectively an extorion racket. Why do more not speak up and take on these criminals? Leading by example may not be enough. If I were NYCL my focus would be converting more of my peers, raising an army against the RIAA. A one man battle is heroic and all, but sooner or later we all need help. It's time other lawyers saw which way the wind is blowing and get behind this leader.

Re:One man army?

[PDG]

As much as I respect NYCL, the reason you don't see more like him is that it doesn't pay. Being noble is difficult when it effects your ability to feed your kids.

I laud his efforts, but he is a jewel in the rough.

To New York County Lawyer

[Kierthos]

We salute you, sir.

Re:Way to go!

[cp.tar]

Besides, if firefighters fight fires, and crime fighters fight crime, what do freedom fighters fight?

due vs. undue stress

[jonaskoelker]

Being stressed, bashed, scarred, and abused is part of life.

True, and people should have some amount of thick skin. But...

When people stress others without caring for their well-being and (more importantly) without a valid reason and do so repeatedly, that's where it becomes chicanery and where I think it's reasonable to step in.

Whether we're talking about schoolyard bullies or corporate dragnet litigation, there should be some way of stopping chicanery. Lawsuits are not like an abusive spouse: you can't just divorce it.

Looked at the Skinnerian way, when people harass you, we need you to have some way of punishing them. Otherwise, as symes said (http://news.slashdot.org/comments.pl?sid=1022819&cid=25690283), you become stressed out with bad effects to your health.

Shame me for using anecdotal evidence all you want; I know what ten years of near-constant bullying can do to you. When you feel universally hated and persecuted, you don't have the most fertile ground for developing social skills; what you do have is fertile grounds for developing social anxiety.

When on top of the endless bullying your cries for help go unanswered, you learn that you can't rely on anyone when you're in need, that no one cares about your well-being, and that people in practice have the right to mistreat you however they want.

I do not want to be expected to tell my children that "this is a part of life".

Re:Fascism We Can Believe In!

[Enry]

Service guarantees citizenship. Would you like to know more?

Re:No FRCP 11(c)(2) motion?

[NewYorkCountryLawyer]

NYCL, I'm surprised. With all of the egregious conduct you're documented, I'm surprised you're just making a declaration in opposition rather than a motion of your own for sanctions under FRCP 11(c)(2). Is your reasoning something you can share with us, or shall we just watch the master in action? ;-)

Can't comment on that.

Here's a link to Rule 11.

Re:But the real question is

[NewYorkCountryLawyer]

Ray, When are you going to get an Amazon wishlist and cash in on all this slashlove you're getting?

All I want is for people to buy stuff for themselves, but buy it through my Ad Links, so I can get a commission. That will help to finance the work I'm doing. A good place to start would be with buying some of the nice, independent, non-RIAA, music I have listed.

Re:Way to go!

[NewYorkCountryLawyer]

I'm just glad to see that the RIAA has a terrorist enemy...

It is they who are the terrorists. I'm just an ordinary lawyer trying to help protect the rights of innocent people from a pack of extortionist bullies who don't care about what is legal or what is right.