Intellectual Property Law

RIAA Decries Attorney-Blogger as 'Vexatious' Litigator

By Ryan Singel, Kevin Poulsen, Sarah Lai Stirland, Kim Zetter, and David Kravets

The Recording Industry Association of America is declaring attorney-blogger Ray Beckerman a "vexatious" litigator. The association is seeking unspecified monetary sanctions to punish him in his defense of a New York woman accused of making copyrighted music available on the Kazaa file sharing system.

The RIAA said Beckerman, one of the nation's few attorneys who defends accused file sharers, "has maintained an anti-recording industry blog during the course of this case and has consistently posted virtually every one of his baseless motions on his blog seeking to bolster his public relations campaign and embarrass plaintiffs," the RIAA wrote (.pdf) in court briefs. "Such vexatious conduct demeans the integrity of these judicial proceedings and warrants this imposition of sanctions."

Lory Lybeck, a Washington state defense attorney leading a proposed class-action lawsuit accusing the RIAA of allegedly engaging in "sham" litigation tactics, said the RIAA's motion comes from the same organization that has sued about 30,000 people over the last five years for file sharing, some of them falsely. It's the same organization, he said, that has sued dead people, the elderly and even children -- all while using unlicensed investigators.

"This is like irony and irony and irony," Lybeck said in a telephone interview. "That's what vexatious litigation is."

Beckerman, whose blog is Recording Industry vs The People, said in an interview the allegations were "frivolous and irresponsible."

Attorney Ray Beckerman denies RIAA charges that he's a "vexatious" litigator.

Lybeck represented an Oregon woman, Tanya Andersen, and got the case dismissed last year. The RIAA fought paying his legal fees because it claimed she was still an infringer. He countersued. The case seeks to represent what he says are "thousands of people falsely sued" by the RIAA. The case is pending.

"Irony is too tame of a word to describe the motion against Ray," Lybeck said. "Their whole 30,000-lawsuit scheme is founded on the purpose to run a PR campaign based on a fundamental starting place of an illegal investigation by unlicensed investigators and then a threatening letter," Lybeck said. "Ray is duty bound and ethically bound to zealously defend his client."

In federal court documents filed in the Eastern District of New York, the RIAA accused Beckerman, in defending a 2004 case against a New York woman, "for providing false and misleading information and for unreasonably and vexatiously multiplying and prolonging this litigation."

The RIAA is also seeking sanctions against the defendant, Marie Lindor, because it accuses her of destroying evidence to prevent it from proving the allegations.

"Here, sanctions are appropriate because defendant, her family, and her counsel engaged in a deliberate pattern of misconduct by providing false, misleading, and incomplete information as to the status of defendant?s Internet service in August 2004, who resided in defendant?s home during that time, the identity and location of witnesses with information about the case, and the existence and owner of the computer connected to defendant?s Internet account at the time of infringement. ?Defendant?s misrepresentations caused plaintiffs and the court to waste substantial resources chasing empty leads and ultimately led to the destruction of critical evidence in this case. The actions of defendant and her counsel have caused Plaintiffs to engage in additional discovery at great time and expense, prolonged this litigation unnecessarily, and resulted in the destruction of critical computer evidence severely and irreparably prejudicing plaintiffs? ability to prove their case."

Readers should note the cover sheet (.pdf) of the court filing lists Richard Gabriel as the RIAA's lead counsel. Gabriel was named a Colorado judge in May and no longer works on behalf of the RIAA.

See Also:

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• Do RIAA Snoops Need PI Licenses?
• MPAA Waffling on Piracy Costs; RIAA Says Illicit CDs Worth $13.74 Each
• RIAA Critic Beckerman Scores Judiciary's Ear
• Senate Committee Expands Justice Department Copyright Enforcement ...
• Hollywood's Grip on DVDs at Crossroads
• Meet the Latest Copyright Scofflaw -- Meet the GOP
• Judge: Copyright Owners Must Consider 'Fair Use' Before Sending ...
• International IP Trade Agreement: Fact or Fiction?

Full post as published by Threat Level on September 17, 2008 (boomark / email).