Prenda
Prenda parties ordered to pay more than $63K to Doe Defendants in Minnesota
What we have at this moment is the order only, a detailed memorandum is yet to come. I will update this post when it is up.
The last paragraph in this order is worth mentioning: it preemptively kills any Prenda’s trolling lawsuit in Minnesota’s Hennepin County (if the gang dares to return to trolling, which is highly unlikely).
Plaintiff Guava LLC, Michael K. Dugas, Esq., Alpha Law Firm LLC and any of their agents, officers, directors, employees, representatives, affiliates, and successors, are hereby enjoined from filing any future civil action against the John Does or the ISPs, without first posting a bond with the Court in the amount of $10,000, or such other amount as the Court deems appropriate, and without first obtaining a certificate of authority from the Minnesota Secretary of State.
Kudos to the judge: unlike Illinois’ Cook County’s Judge Sanjay Taylor, who knew that a similar Guava lawsuit was a fraud but cowardly allowed it to be dismissed and forgotten, Judge Bransford made sure that justice was served.
Coverage
- TechDirt: Team Prenda Ordered To Pay Yet Another $64k In Yet Another Case by Mike Masnick.
- TorrentFreak: Prenda Suffers More Fee Award Blows by Ben Jones.
- ArsTechnica: Lawsuit with alleged collusion will cost Prenda Law another $64k by Joe Mullin.
Update
9/3/2013
As promised, Judge Brandsford’s Memorandum following her order is available.
The most notable is the Footnote 3 that will undeniably cast a dark shadow on the future law career of Michael Dugas:
This Court finds that Dugas lacks any credibility with this Court based upon the actions he has taken in this matter. Therefore, any declaration and testimony offered is discredited with this Court.
Fight © Trolls 
That order looks pretty good. The memo will be entertaining I am sure.
One point tempers my enthusiasm. Dugas does not have to disgorge the settlement payments from Does. If Dugas collected more than $64,000 in settlements, he is laughing at his escape.
If I read it right, Steele & Hans dodged the bullet, but Dugas pretty much got it in the caboose. The part about allowing for the reducing of the Order to a judgment is particularly heartwarming.
Dugas, the filthy troll that he is, can and should take a serious lesson from this. But we all know he won’t. This is just one more example of somebody running out to get a bar license so they can work the system. Piracy is wrong and should never be condoned. Fabricating a lawsuit is far worse, by miles, as is evidenced here.
I am also disappointed that Hansmeier avoided getting named personally as a liable party.
However, there may be an overall benefit to sticking the local pawn with liability. I doubt Alpha and Guava will be eager to pay the $63K, and after Prenda’s dissolution, do you think they’ll be around much longer? That likely leaves Dugas as the last man standing with liability for this award. I doubt he’s seen much of the trolling revenue stream, just some contract hourly payments for his work like Gibbs, so there’s no way he has that kind of money lying around.
Expect to see him go after S&H hard, maybe suing them, ratting them out, bar complaints, whatever it takes. He has a lot less to lose by throwing them to the wolves than vice-versa. S&H have the big pile of settlement cash and can attempt to collapse the shell companies to evade liability as long as their names stay off the bills, but Dugas will be filling his pants with shit for the foreseeable future because his name is on this thing.
He may even know enough to blackmail them into making the $63K appear, but given how reluctant they were to put up a bond in CACD when everything depended on it, I don’t see the money coming out of the trust account without some drama. Another awesome wedge driven between these scumbags.
But we should probably expect an “emergency” appeal before things get too exciting.
This order will likely increase the likelihood of Hansmeier and Steele splitting up as the money gets tight like two cats in a bag. If I was Dugas I would be looking for an out as he still has a few options.
Very nice!
If S&H try to dissolve Guava and Alpha Law to leave Dugas alone and exposed, Dugas would have a super-strong incentive to dig out information to pierce the corporate veils. Steele and Hansmeier then would find themselves accurately held personally liable for everything, as they should be.
Ouch they have really upset a few too many judges haven’t they.
I really want to see that memo
The first time I heard of this case is when it hit my mail box. I should get a part of that based on all the sleepless nighs filled with anger and lust for pay back. But this is a poetic payment in a way. very entertaining
Justice served ………….. finally. But i wish Duffy and Dutz were included based on the harassment I recieved from them over the last year
charma is a bitch
thanks SJD for all you do. Found this site within minutes of finding that letter. Really helped my mental wellbeing by taking the steam out of their threats. Can’t imagine doing it all over again …. alone. I imagine many feel this way.
see here I am again
No sleep reading about these dickheads again.
Note that at this point it’s a payment order. Or more of a suggestion for a payment, which can be structured as a pre-tax or tax-deductible business expense.
If not paid within 30 days, it will be “reduced” to a judgement, which won’t be tax deductible.
I’m guessing that there will be an appeal, but the payments will be made on day 29.
This could be taken as a message to local counsel to review cases before becoming local muscle for production-line extortion schemes.
karma may well be a bitch, charma is just a spelling error 🙂
Teeth kick down throat by Judge. Ouchies
Register of Actions
Case No. 27-CV-12-20976
Guava LLC vs Spencer Merkel etal §
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Case Type: Civil Other/Misc.
Date Filed: 10/17/2012
Location: – Hennepin Civil
Judicial Officer: Bransford, Tanya M.
Party Information
Lead Attorneys
Defendant Merkel, Spencer TRINA ELISE MORRISON
Retained
612-750-9036(W)
Plaintiff Alpha Law Firm LLC
MPLS, MN 55402
Plaintiff Guava LLC Pro Se
Events & Orders of the Court
DISPOSITIONS
03/01/2013
Settled (Judicial Officer: Bransford, Tanya M.)
09/23/2013
Judgment (Judicial Officer: Bransford, Tanya M.)
Monetary Award (Status: Active, Debtor: Alpha Law Firm LLC, Entered: 09/23/2013, Docketed: 09/23/2013, 10:00 AM, Original Principal: $18,334.75)
Monetary Award (Status: Active, Debtor: MICHAEL KEVIN DUGAS, Entered: 09/23/2013, Docketed: 09/23/2013, 10:00 AM, Original Principal: $18,334.75)
Monetary Award (Status: Active, Debtor: Guava LLC, Entered: 09/23/2013, Docketed: 09/23/2013, 10:00 AM, Original Principal: $18,334.75)
09/23/2013
Judgment (Judicial Officer: Bransford, Tanya M.)
Monetary Award (Status: Active, Debtor: Alpha Law Firm LLC, Entered: 09/23/2013, Docketed: 09/23/2013, 10:09 AM, Original Principal: $12,646.00)
Monetary Award (Status: Active, Debtor: MICHAEL KEVIN DUGAS, Entered: 09/23/2013, Docketed: 09/23/2013, 10:09 AM, Original Principal: $12,646.00)
Monetary Award (Status: Active, Debtor: Guava LLC, Entered: 09/23/2013, Docketed: 09/23/2013, 10:09 AM, Original Principal: $12,646.00)
09/23/2013
Judgment (Judicial Officer: Bransford, Tanya M.)
Monetary Award (Status: Active, Debtor: Alpha Law Firm LLC, Entered: 09/23/2013, Docketed: 09/23/2013, 10:15 AM, Original Principal: $21,324.27)
Monetary Award (Status: Active, Debtor: MICHAEL KEVIN DUGAS, Entered: 09/23/2013, Docketed: 09/23/2013, 10:15 AM, Original Principal: $21,324.27)
Monetary Award (Status: Active, Debtor: Guava LLC, Entered: 09/23/2013, Docketed: 09/23/2013, 10:15 AM, Original Principal: $21,324.27)
09/23/2013
Judgment (Judicial Officer: Bransford, Tanya M.)
Monetary Award (Status: Active, Debtor: Alpha Law Firm LLC, Entered: 09/23/2013, Docketed: 09/23/2013, 10:22 AM, Original Principal: $4,537.50)
Monetary Award (Status: Active, Debtor: MICHAEL KEVIN DUGAS, Entered: 09/23/2013, Docketed: 09/23/2013, 10:22 AM, Original Principal: $4,537.50)
Monetary Award (Status: Active, Debtor: Guava LLC, Entered: 09/23/2013, Docketed: 09/23/2013, 10:22 AM, Original Principal: $4,537.50)
09/23/2013
Judgment (Judicial Officer: Bransford, Tanya M.)
Monetary Award (Status: Active, Debtor: Alpha Law Firm LLC, Entered: 09/23/2013, Docketed: 09/23/2013, 10:29 AM, Original Principal: $6,525.00)
Monetary Award (Status: Active, Debtor: MICHAEL KEVIN DUGAS, Entered: 09/23/2013, Docketed: 09/23/2013, 10:29 AM, Original Principal: $6,525.00)
Monetary Award (Status: Active, Debtor: Guava LLC, Entered: 09/23/2013, Docketed: 09/23/2013, 10:29 AM, Original Principal: $6,525.00)
The decision (with a minor modification) was upheld by the Minnesota Court of Appeals today.