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I have been named in a mass-litigation campaign by Maverick Entertainment - Need Help

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TexasRose22

Junior Member
Hello,

I received a certified letter from my cable provider (Time Warner Cable) notifying me that they have been served with a court order compelling them to disclose my identifying information based on an IP address they have and a particular downloading date and time stamp. The information is being requested due to a mass lawsuit being filed by Maverick Entertainment Group, Inc. They state that they are excused from responding if I have filed the necessary legal papers by May 27, 2011.

Apparently, this has to do with the following case:
http://www.hollywoodreporter.com/thr-esq/mass-suing-pirates-gets-shot-170403

After this letter from TWC, there is a copy of what appears to be a legal court document that states, "UNITED STATES DISTRICT COURT" as a title and toward the middle states, "SUBPOENA TO PRODUCE DOCUMENTS, INFORMATION, OR OBJECTS..." and below that a paragraph titled "Production" has been checked off.

This paragraph has the following in bold "YOU ARE COMMANDED" and then states:

"To produce at the time, date, and place set forth below the following documents, electronically stored information, or objects, and permit their inspection, copying, testing, or sampling of the material: Pursuant to the attached orders, provide the name, current (and permanent) address, telephone numbers, e-mail addresses [...] of all individuals whose IP address are listed in the attached spreadsheet."

The last page in the set of documents is another letter that states:

"If you want to prevent being identified, you have 30 days from the date of this notice to file a motion to quash or vacate the subpoena."

So I would like to know how do I go about doing that? Also, I'm not at all versed in legal matters so if this could be explained thoroughly and with a lot of detail, I'd really appreciate that.

Finally, there is a section entitled, "OTHER ISSUES REGARDING THE LAWSUIT AGAINST YOU" and that section states:

"To maintain a lawsuit against you in the District Court for the District of Columbia, the court must have personal jurisdiction over you. You may be able to challenge the District Court for the District of Columbia's personal jurisdiction over you. However, please not that even if your challenge is successful, the Plaintiff can still file against you in the state in which a court has personal jurisdiction over you."

So my question about this is, I am not part of their jurisdiction (which is Virginia - I live in Texas). Do I personally have to challenge this jurisdiction of when/if they get my information will the court itself drop the suit and try to re-file in Texas. What is the likelihood of them re-filing in Texas, and overall, what kind of consequences can a lawsuit of this kind (being waged, I believe, against 1000+ people) have for the individual people such as myself?


Thank you very much!
- Helga


PS:

Lastly, I forgot to mention that right now financially I cannot afford to retain an attorney. Is there a way to get some kind of FREE help for this? And about how much does it cost to file the motions that I may need to file (listed above)? Thank you again!
 


quincy

Senior Member
TexasRose22, I suggest you use the Search feature at the top of the page.

In the Key Word box, type in "West Coast Productions" and enter the code. Four threads will appear - one from the Computers/Software & Internet section of the forum and three from the Copyright and Trademarks section of the forum.

Although you are being sued by Maverick Entertainment Group and not by West Coast Productions, the information provided in the West Coast threads will answer many of the questions you have posed here. The West Coast copyright infringement suit was also filed in the District of Columbia District Court and the court rules posted will apply to your suit.

Time Warner has successfully argued in other mass defendant copyright infringement actions against the release of the identifying information of their subscribers. Whether they will present any argument in this case, or whether they will have the help of the ACLU, the Electronic Frontier Foundation and Public Citizen in fighting the release of your information for this suit, is something I can't tell you. From the notice you received, it does not appear to be the case.

The consequences of illegally downloading a copyrighted movie can be payment of statutory damages to the copyright holder of up to $150,000 per infringement, should the copyright holder take you to court. You will, more than likely, receive a settlement demand letter first, with a demand for payment of a few thousand dollars ($2000 to $5000 perhaps?) to settle the case. At that time, you will have to decide whether to pay or to fight the action against you.

I really recommend you have an attorney for this - but I understand that cost is an issue for many.

Good luck.
 

UpHillBattle

Junior Member
I tried to find a link on this site for Private messaging and found nothing.. I have also been named by Maverick Entertainment in a suit. 1 or 4300 or so. I just received a letter demanding $2500 before it increases to $3500 then they threaten a suit of $50k+ and their legal fees.

give me your email and I'll share whatever information I have.

In your scenario an attorney for a small amount (like $500 or so) will try and coerce them to explain you're not someone they can collect $50k+ from anyways.. i.e. if they sue you'll they'll win.. and never see a penny of it. From my prior reading I thought they would ask for $1500 as the initial offer to settle..
 

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