Copyright Law

For "repeatedly" destroying evidence, Court strikes answer in Atlantic v. Howell and enters judgment for RIAA

By Ty Rogers and Ray Beckerman

Thanks to a faithful reader "Scott" who brought this to our attention.

In an Arizona case, Atlantic v. Howell, the Court, after finding that defendant had "repeatedly" and "willfully" destroyed evidence necessary to a determination of the case on the merits, struck the defendant's answer and entered a default judgment in favor of the plaintiffs.

Fred Von Lohmann of the Electronic Frontier Foundation was quoted in Ars Technica as saying "He never had an adequate opportunity to explain what happened on his PC, while the RIAA had forensics experts and lawyers to tell the story.... I think if Howell had an expert and lawyer to speak for him, he would have told a different story."

August 29, 2008, Order striking defendant's answer and granting default judgment to plaintiffs

Found via Ars Technica.

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Full post as published by Recording Industry vs The People on September 01, 2008 (boomark / email).