New twist in RIAA, Santangelo
p2pnet.net news:- US district judge Colleen McMahon, who’s hearing the Big Music file sharing charges levelled at Patti Santangelo, says she can move for an order of dismissal with prejudice and, “The Court has the power to entertain such a motion, and to grant it on whatever terms and conditions the Court deems appropriate.”
Santangelo long ago decided to stand up to the members of the Big 4 music cartel, and p2pnet readers have been contributing not only to her, but also to Michelle and Bobby, two of her five children who also became RIAA victims when the RIAA failed to intimidate Patti.
The last thing the RIAA or Warner Music, EMI, Vivendi Universal and Sony BMG want is for the Santangelo case to be heard. If that happens, they’ll have not only to defend their position, but prove it, and so far, they’ve managed to avoid that, instead using the media to judge close to 20,000 men, women and children, finding them guilty of the non-existent crime of file sharing without having to go anywhere near a court, a jury or a magistrate.
Richard Gabriel, the Holme Roberts & Owen lawyer acting for the RIAA (Recording Industry Association of America) in this and other sue ‘em all cases, also wants the case halted before it gets to a trial, even knowing heavy costs would almost certainly be awarded against his clients.
Better that than actually having to go before a judge and jury, is the probable RIAA reasoning.
Dropping the case would in one sense relieve the pressure on Santangelo, who’s beset by deep outside problems, and on her her lawyer, Jordan Glass, who’s devoting hours of pro bono effort towards all three cases, at the same time trying to run a legal practice.
Now Santangelo, who’s on record as saying she wants her case to be heard so she can clear her name and get on with her life, and Glass will have to think deeply about their next step.
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UPDATE: 10:20 AM PST
“In Elektra v. Santangelo, the Judge of course did not sign off on the RIAA’s ‘mystery document‘ filed last week, and instructed the defendant that she can make a motion to dismiss the case with prejudice,” says Recording Industry vs The People, going on:
Patti Santangelo had told the Court she had no objection to the RIAA’s discontinuing the case “with prejudice”, so long as she maintains the right to seek attorneys fees and costs.
Memo Endorsed’ Order Dated April 2, 2007, Advising defendent she is free to make motion to discontinue with prejudice*
Presumably the litigation will now move on to litigation over whether Ms. Santangelo is entitled to an attorneys fee award and in what amount. See Capitol v. Foster.
Stay tuned.
Also See:
RIAA victims – Us, Them, p2p and file sharing, December 9, 2006
Recording Industry vs The People – Santangelo Says No Dismissal With Prejudice Unless She Can Claim Attorneys Fees, April 4, 2007
If your Net access is blocked by government restrictions, try Psiphon from the Citizen Lab at thIs the end (of the Net) nigh?zze University of Toronto’s Munk Centre for International Studies. Go here for the official download, here for the p2pnet download, and here for details. And if you’re Chinese and you’re looking for a way to access independent Internet news sources, try Freegate, the DIT program written to help Chinese citizens circumvent web site blocking outside of China. Download it here.
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Tired of being treated like a criminal? They depend on you, not the other way around. Don’t buy their ‘product’. Do bug your local politicians. Use emails, snail-mail, phone calls, faxes, IM, stop them in the street, blog. And if you’re into organizing, organize petitions, organize demonstrations and then turn up on your local political rep’s doorstep, making sure you’ve contacted your local tv/radio station/newspaper in advance. Don’t just complain. Do something!Stay tuned.
Also See:
RIAA victims – Us, Them, p2p and file sharing, December 9, 2006
If your Net access is blocked by government restrictions, try Psiphon from the Citizen Lab at thIs the end (of the Net) nigh?zze University of Toronto’s Munk Centre for International Studies. Go here for the official download, here for the p2pnet download, and here for details. And if you’re Chinese and you’re looking for a way to access independent Internet news sources, try Freegate, the DIT program written to help Chinese citizens circumvent web site blocking outside of China. Download it here.
rss feed: http://p2pnet.net/p2p.rss | | Mobile – http://p2pnet.net/index-wml.php | | And use free p2pnet newsfeeds for your site
Tired of being treated like a criminal? They depend on you, not the other way around. Don’t buy their ‘product’. Do bug your local politicians. Use emails, snail-mail, phone calls, faxes, IM, stop them in the street, blog. And if you’re into organizing, organize petitions, organize demonstrations and then turn up on your local political rep’s doorstep, making sure you’ve contacted your local tv/radio station/newspaper in advance. Don’t just complain. Do something!
April 4th, 2007 at 12:19 pm
What happen to her daughter Michelle and her defult judgement was it
April 4th, 2007 at 12:20 pm
What happen to her daughter Michelle and her defult judgement was it vacated?
April 4th, 2007 at 5:01 pm
Judge Robinson’s Individual Part Rules are that conferences MUST be held before ANY type of motion may be filed. The first conference is scheduled for the end of April. No other motions/activities may take place until then.
Each Judge has his or her own rules, based upon their calendar, experience, style, preference, etc. Sometimes, they are taking part in system-wide experiments run by the judicial branch to test various efficiencies to see what works best (or merely better).
In any event, the process is continuing. Other than the procedural aspect of the matter, it would be improper to discuss issues open before the Court, so please do not be put-off by the lack of information.
Jordan Glass