Lawyer ethics, champerty and maintenance, and I'm getting sued

[Abagadro]

5k was likely a retainer that the 250/hr was charged against.

[Paelos]

5k was likely a retainer that the 250/hr was charged against.

Yes, that. CPA's do the same thing for tax cases.

[angry.bob]

That makes sense and also falls in line with their business model. After a week and a half of being ignored I got an email from their local attorney. He stated that the minimum they will accept to settle is $6600, is firm and final, and is available for me to accept until close of business Friday. So yeah, pay their $6600 and be done with it or pay $5000 with the possibility of $150,000 plus both side's attorney fees. People have been reporting they claim their attorney fees are $30,000+. So a couple hundred grand possibly. This group also does whatever they can to get attorney fees out of defendants, even in cases they've lost or when they themselves try to withdraw. My favorite was an senior citizen living in an apartment building that came with internet. They sued him for downloading all sorts of their porn, but he was able to prove that he had been out of the country and his apartment unoccupied for like a year - with the "infractions" happening right in the middle. Rather than just apologize and drop the suit they continued the suit rather than eat their own legal fees. Which are pretty small in reality since everything is done in Germany and relayed to the local attorneys. The local guys literally just file crap and relay message back and forth. The times when they do have to go to court their side of things is almost always a clownshoes clusterfuck.

It would seriously not surprise me at all to find out that both attorneys had offices right across from each other at the same place.

[Samwise]

I'd pay the $6k and then burn their office to the ground two years later.  Long as you don't get caught it's cheaper than fighting them in court AND more satisfying.  

[schild]

Just countersue them for crimes against jews.

[Signe]

Just countersue them for crimes against jews.

You are such a fucking clever boy!  In today's world, I bet he would make a tidy sum.

[angry.bob]

Update!

So I sent their lawyer an email saying that I thought $6600 for a settlement was a bit high given that there was no evidence I was even involved and they did no investigation other than to get my name as the person who pays the bill for the IP address of my WiFi modem/router, as well as the suit having several incorrect statements stated as facts (such as BT users not needing to connect to any sort of central website to find files, so no way to serve a DMCA takedown), as well as misleading statements(Implying that having a part of a file downloaded is the same as the entire movie file downloaded). I also told him that I thought naming me in the suit was unjust, reckless, and groundless. He ignored it which I expected him to. I followed up this morning with an email saying that I accepted the $6600 amount but would not accept or sign anything that indicated wrongdoing on my part or that limits me in any way. Also that I was agreeing to the settlement for the sole purpose of getting it out of the way for the holidays. Just waiting to hear back from him.

His Twitter timestamped 22 hours ago said he was leaving the country for a few days. On twitter and some other websites he has shitfits about Marco Rubio, Cuba, or when the two intersect. I’m not sure of the origin of his name, they could be either Spanish or Arab. He’s a member of some Hispanic organizations and he looks Hispanic in most of his pictures, but it’s possible he could be Arab trying to pass as Hispanic to not have to deal with it. The background of his parents show that his mom is from Puerto Rico and was married once before she married his dad. His dad though was hard to nail down. His country of origin is “other” and he’s changed his name since he came here. Doing a search on his assumed name brings up a billion pages in Persian or English talking about Iraq. The county auditor shows he paid $127,000 for his 1300sqft house, but it’s valued at $59,000. I found pictures and a floorplan on a real estate site that listed it before he bought it. It’s pretty generic, small, and uninspired. It’s about a block north of Little Italy in the Short North, that was a shit neighborhood when I lived in Columbus, but who knows now. I wouldn't live there, but whatever.

Frankly I’m concerned enough to believe that he’s travelling to Puerto Rico or illegally to Cuba for suspect reasons. I think I should alert the TSA and Homeland Security for them to check on it. The under-30 son of an Iraqi immigrant travelling to Cuba, who knows what’s up with that. Probably ISIS if you ask me.


Edit: In before "Psycho"

[Yegolev]

No, no, I approve of this tactic.

[schild]

Actually, yes, do that.

[Rasix]

FULL NERF. FULL NERRRRRRRRRRRFFFF.

[Draegan]

Can't be full nerf without video cameras.

[Pennilenko]

Can't be full nerf without video cameras.

Or a crazy dog.

[schild]

Nerf isn't that clever.

[HaemishM]

The ISIS connection was certainly inspired and I wholeheartedly approve of making a spectacle of your particular brand of anti-social insanity.

[KallDrexx]

 

Christmas came early!

[jgsugden]

I hope everyone has a wonderful holiday season and avoids doing anything that might cause them more trouble than they can handle.

[schild]

Fucking killjoy. All I want for Christmas is schadenfreude.

[Morfiend]

I am so glad I checked this thread. It honestly made my day. I am excitedly waiting for update 2.

[angry.bob]

Okay, so I guess this would be sort of legal advice, more of a paperwork sort of thing. In case they refuse to agree to the "no wrongdoing" thing I told him, I have an answer to the suite ready to send. I do have a question though. In the "prayer for relief" section I have the following:

Request the court “on its own” issue a show cause order (FRCP 11(c)(3)) to Plaintiff as to why it should not be sanctioned for providing factual contentions that have no evidentiary support or will likely have no evidentiary support after a reasonable opportunity for further investigation or discovery.

My question is, does this cover provably false claims? Their contention that they are unable to send warning letters or takedown notices because BT clients never have to connect to any sort of index or catalog is just blatant bullshit. It's central to their business model and why they claim to have no recourse but to sue. They could effectively stop all torrenting of their IP by sending DMCA notices to two websites, but then their investment vehicle goes tits up. I would like to believe that federal judges don't like when people outright lie in dodcuments and I want to make it clear from the start that their claims are easily provable lies, or at the very least claims easily provable to be untrue.

If my answer tot he suit doesn't get them to withdraw or at least agree to my "no wrongdoing" thing then it's off to an actual lawyer I go. I just hated the idea of paying a couple grand to negotiate with them and possibly file an answer when as far as I can tell they've only ever actually won one suit that's gone to trial.

[KallDrexx]

I'm pretty sure you won't get a real lawyer to answer that for you on an internet forum, as it puts them at risk if it's incorrect.

[Paelos]

I'm pretty sure you won't get a real lawyer to answer that for you on an internet forum, as it puts them at risk if it's incorrect.

I'm pretty sure real lawyers left the thread at TSA and possibly Puerto Rican.

[taolurker]

Where is the countersuit for defamation and the part where you will agree to settle that out of court for $12,000, or double their original suit claim which names you?

[angry.bob]

Where is the countersuit for defamation and the part where you will agree to settle that out of court for $12,000, or double their original suit claim which names you?

Okay, no reason to be a dick. I don't see the problem with asking a court to look into the practices of a lawyer who files hundreds of suits in one day with no evidence other than a list of billing names and a plaintiff who accounts for 38% of all copyright suits filed in the United States. Especially when most of the money goes to a German investment company listed in the suit as an network technology investigation firm.

[angry.bob]

I'm pretty sure you won't get a real lawyer to answer that for you on an internet forum, as it puts them at risk if it's incorrect.

Really? It's surprising that there's that strict a code of practice considering what amoral predatory shitheels a lot of these guys seem to be. Our forum members not included of course. Just saying there's a reason it's regarded as one of the least ethical careers. Less than half as trustworthy as our cops according to polls. And the 20% who said that they were ethical are probably lawyers themselves.

[Abagadro]

There are about four reasons why a lawyer can't/won't give you advice here, so I hope you aren't counting on an actual answer from one.

EDIT: Well, that's not technically true, I will give you the advice to go consult with a local attorney before you do anything.

[Miasma]

I'm pretty sure you won't get a real lawyer to answer that for you on an internet forum, as it puts them at risk if it's incorrect.

Really? It's surprising that there's that strict a code of practice considering what amoral predatory shitheels a lot of these guys seem to be. Our forum members not included of course. Just saying there's a reason it's regarded as one of the least ethical careers. Less than half as trustworthy as our cops according to polls. And the 20% who said that they were ethical are probably lawyers themselves.

You might have better luck at a site with tens of thousands of users like Reddit, with that many people the chances of finding a lawyer willing to risk their career/bar membership by offering advice over the internet is much higher.  Also realize that lawyers willing to risk their career/bar membership to give advice over the internet might not be terribly wise people to begin with.  SA also has a legal advice thread which I enjoy reading but most of the "I'm being sued for downloading stuff" questions are answered with "you're screwed".

Did you mention the Champerty thing in your reply?

You're like a much wiser, more methodical, less emotional Nerf.  If anyone can beat this through force of will and determination it would be you.  This is my new favorite thread.  Hope you win.

Of course I also assumed you of all people would be connecting to the internet via high grade ip anonymising services.

[angry.bob]

There are about four reasons why a lawyer can't/won't give you advice here, so I hope you aren't counting on an actual answer from one.

I figured it was about as likely as getting any other professional advice just below the medical level, in other words unlikely. But since it was more of a verbiage/nomenclature/formatting question I thought it was worth a shot. Sort of like the difference between asking me over the internet "Hey, is my wound infected" versus "What are the signs of an infected wound".

I also already talked to a couple of attorneys, oddly their advice was I should hire them for a couple of grand. If it actually goes to trial I absolutely will, but for the initial answer I'm being a cheapskate.

Also, bonus if at least one of those four reasons to not answer my question is because I'm an asshole.

Of course I also assumed you of all people would be connecting to the internet via high grade ip anonymising services.

Not for normal every day stuff. 24 years of downloading stuff eventually made me lazy and sloppy. I've mocked torrent users for years, but it was just too easy to find rare stuff that's not available anywhere else. From there it was a short trip to "Fuck it, I'll just queue everything up here and now".

[Abagadro]

I will say on general principle that you can actually hurt your case rather badly in an answer by doing things like failing to raise proper affirmative defenses or mandatory counterclaims or inadvertently admitting to something. Even answering in and of itself when you might have a basis for a motion to dismiss instead can damage your case since you can lose the ability to raise those issues by virtue of the fact you filed an answer.

If the case is significant, a lawyer should be involved from the jump rather than mucking it up and then asking a lawyer to "fix it".  Sucks to pay for one, but lawyers get high fees because they are typically worth it.

[schild]

Sucks to pay for one, but lawyers get high fees because they are typically worth it.

You mean because they can navigate the worthless, fuckawful system they took part in creating.

[rk47]

Yeah, I'm with bob on this.
Don't let those bastards win.
Keep up the good fight.

[schild]

Yeah, I'm with bob on this.
Don't let those bastards win.
Keep up the good fight.

You accidentally a syllable.

[rk47]

I'm very angry about this injustice, schild.
Please don't push me.

[Abagadro]

Sucks to pay for one, but lawyers get high fees because they are typically worth it.

You mean because they can navigate the worthless, fuckawful system they took part in creating.

Pretty much.

[bhodi]

http://www.gofundme.com/

The internet loves sticking it to assholes like that. See if you can get some torrent sites to run a story.

[MahrinSkel]

As far as the website thing goes: Technically BT does not need central hubs, trackers, superseeds, or indexing websites. They make it operate more efficiently, but it is possible for it to operate without them (where earlier sharing systems could not operate at all without them). So I suspect that's not a winning point for you.

--Dave