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Jammie Thomas To Appeal $1.9 Million RIAA Verdict
CNet reports that the lawyers representing Jammie Thomas-Rasset have confirmed she will be fighting the $1.9 million verdict handed down in her case against the RIAA.
"The Recording Industry Association of America said on Monday that it had made a phone call to Sibley and law partner Kiwi Camara last week to ask whether Thomas-Rasset wanted to discuss a settlement. An RIAA representative said that its lawyers were told by Sibley that Thomas-Rasset wasn't interested in discussing any deal that required her to admit guilt or pay any money. ... 'She's not interested in settling,' attorney Joe Sibley said in a brief phone interview. 'She wants to take the issue up on appeal on the constitutionality of the damages. That's one of the main arguments — that the damages are disproportionate to any actual harm.'"
That's the whole point. The damages are meant to be a deterrent against future abuses. The RIAA is sticking her head on a pike as a warning to others.
Punitive damages can only be awarded in effort to deter the defendant from committing the same infringement again. It is expressly forbidden to make an example of a defendant by awarding a grossly high settlement for the purpose of making others think twice before doing the same thing. It is also expressly forbidden to award higher damages for acts that were not included in the trial. For example, in this case, there were 24 files in question. It's possible the jury said "I'm sure there were a lot more" and award damages with that in mind. They can't do that.
If either of those things occurred, the verdict is immediately nullified. I'm sure they will be raised on appeal, but they will be hard to prove. If you read the jury instructions on this case, it clearly explicates that they are to award damages ONLY for the files in question. There was even a neat little worksheet to help them with it.