RightHaven Lawyer Says Browser Ate His Homework

J053 writes "Wired Magazine reports that Righthaven attorney Shawn Mangano's excuse for being a day late with his explanation as to why the litigation factory made 'dishonest statements to the court' was that his web browser upgraded and he could no longer attach PDF files to his submissions. Yeah, right ..."

Comments

Its your fault.

[hedgemage]

I'm getting my MBA and many of my profs do everything digitally from accepting research papers, to sending out syllabi to arranging meetings via e-mail.
One thing that I have learned, especially when giving a presentation is that if anything goes wrong, its your fault.

Powerpoint doesn't work? Its your fault. Didn't embed that YouTube video correctly? Its your fault. Your laptop can't talk to the projector? Its your fault. The Projector doesn't work? Its your fault.
If you aren't professional enough to have your research paper backed up on a thumbdrive, a second laptop for your group presentation, or even /gasp!/ a paper copy, ITS YOUR OWN DAMN FAULT.

Welcome to being a professional in the 21st century, where using technology is necessary, but knowing what to do when it fails is smart.

That's why the judge is so p***ed off

[tomhudson]

Righthaven was suing for copyright, when they weren't the owners of the copyrighted material. You can't "hive off" the right to sue to a 3rd party like Righthaven. Righthaven lacked standing, and should have known they lacked standing (after all, if you're a bunch of lawyers suing over copyrights, you should at least know copyright law, right?)

The way each suit should have proceeded was that the rights-holders hire Righthaven to sue on their behalf; this makes things harder for Righthaven in court, since then they rights-holder has to be involved at every step - something that drives up the cost of each suit. Righthaven wanted to do this stuff in bulk, un its own name, without crossing each T and dotting each I, and it doesn't work that way.

Then there was the sloppy casework ...

The judge was not amused at what looks like a fraud upon the court, and has been kicking Righthaven in the nads ever since.

Re:That's why the judge is so p***ed off

[Maestro4k]

Righthaven wanted to do this stuff in bulk, un its own name, without crossing each T and dotting each I, and it doesn't work that way.

No, the newspaper group/company was involved in this highly and the real plan was that they wanted to have their cake and eat it too. They wanted to sue and try to get money the way Righthaven's been doing, but... they wanted to avoid any financial liability to themselves in the process. So they provided seed money to setup Righthaven, and then setup an agreement where they only gave Righthaven the right to sue for their copyrights. The newspaper company kept ownership of the copyrights, and if Righthaven's scheme failed, then the newspaper company couldn't be hit with sanctions and/or lawsuits because Righthaven did the suing, not them, honest!

But it's not working out that way for them. Righthaven seems to be run by lawyers who got their bar license from a Cracker Jack box who have committed numerous and serious mistakes. Failing to reveal that the newspaper company had a pecuniary interest in the lawsuits is getting them into major, major trouble, as is not actually owning the copyrights. And at least one person that Righthaven targeted has filed a counter-suit against both Righthaven AND the newspaper company. Personally I hope the counter-suit gets to go forward and that more of those targeted join in and go after the newspaper company too. This whole thing appears to have been their brainchild, not Righthaven's founder, and they were deliberately trying to game the courts.

No paralegal?

[Scutter]

Are you kidding me? Mr Big Shot lawyer is the ONLY ONE in his law firm with a computer? He doesn't have a single para working for him that knows how to work a web browser and can submit it for him? No partners who can submit (or at least lend him their computer)? I am 100% on the side of the MBA commenters in this thread. If you can't get it in on time, IT'S YOUR DAMN FAULT. FIND A WAY TO DO IT. Mail it, fax it, sneaker-net it, just get it in. "My browser ate it" is a lame-ass excuse and his censure should be doubled as a result of shoveling that plateful of crap at the court. He had two weeks to submit it and he waited until the last second before trying. His excuse is 100% pure weapons-grade bolognium.