Judge delivers fast smackdown to RIAA on P2P counterclaim
By Eric Bangeman | Published: May 08, 2008 - 04:00AM CT
A federal judge in Florida has made short work of a 30-page motion by the RIAA to dismiss a P2P defendant's counterclaims. The action comes in Atlantic v. Boyer, a Florida woman accused of copyright infringement by the RIAA earlier this year.
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As has become typical in contested file-sharing cases, Eva Boyer has submitted a list of counterclaims along with her answer to the copyright infringement charges. Boyer accuses the RIAA of computer fraud and abuse, abuse of process, deceptive and unfair trade practices, and civil conspiracy—in short, claims similar to those made by Tanya Andersen, who is now pursuing a malicious prosecution lawsuit against the record labels.
The RIAA customarily moves to dismiss the counterclaims, with mixed results. In Atlantic v. Boyer, the judge's rejection of the RIAA's motion came stunningly fast. It was filed on May 5, and Judge Richard A. Lazzara dismissed it in a brief, two-page order. Judge Lazzara notes that Boyer's counterclaims were nearly identical to those in another Florida case involving the same two sets of attorneys, UMG v. Del Cid, and that the court allowed the counterclaims to stand.
In its motion to dismiss the Boyer's counterclaims, the RIAA argued that they were "heavy on hyperbole" and that the judge's decision in UMG v. Del Cid was incorrect. The labels also said that her computer fraud and abuse claim was improperly filed.
With the counterclaims upheld, the RIAA appears to be in for a bit of a tussle in this case. It's impossible to predict whether this case will head to trial, if Boyer will settle, or if the RIAA will ultimately drop the case. One thing is certain: Judge Lazzara seems disinclined to green light the RIAA's customary legal maneuvers, making the group's customary steamrolling of the legal process a bit more difficult.
Wherever the case ends up, it won't be handled by the same man who argued the RIAA's case in the Jammie Thomas trial. The record industry's lead counsel, Richard Gabriel, will be leaving private practice for an appointment to the Colorado Court of Appeals.
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