Prenda
Lightspeed Media Corporation v. John Doe: a quick Q & A
Disclaimer: This post in a way constitutes legal advice but is being submitted for discussion purposes only.
I wanted to write my first post and try to keep it simple about the case entitled Lightspeed Media Corporation v. John Doe currently pending in the Circuit Court of the Twentieth Judicial Circuit, St. Clair County, Illinois (complaint is embedded below). Don’t let the title deceive you : this is not a lawsuit against a single malicious hacker, but a mere fishing expedition, which has a sole goal to obtain contact information of 6,500 Internet users and start extortion racket. Naming one person and burying hundreds, and (like in this case) thousands, of subscribers in a complaint is one of the new sleazy tactics employed by trolls in order to deceive both courts and public.
Who is Lightspeed Media Corporation?
Pornographer Steve JonesLightspeed Media Corporation (LMC) is a pornography enterprise located in Phoenix, Arizona. It is owned by Steve Jones, a former computer consultant who, along with his wife,
…publishes photos and videos of youthful models, and has long used terms such as “barely legal” and “barely 18″ in its marketing. Users pay between $30 and $40 a month, depending on how many sites they want to access.”
(According to Wall Street Journal.)
Today Steve Jones charges (NSFW link) either $34.95 or $39.95.
Who is LMC’s troll?
Former judge Michael O’MalleyLMC is being represented by an attorney affiliated¹ with Prenda Law by the name of Michael O’ Malley, who until August 2010 was a judge in the court where this lawsuit is pending. Undoubtedly he is on friendly terms with the judge who has been assigned to this case in what American Tort Reform Foundation has identified as being in the top list of “judicial hellholes” in the USA.
Who is LMC’s Forensic Computer Expert?
Quick answer: Steve Jones. According to the complaint at paragraph 14,
Plaintiff retained Arcadia Data Security Consultants, LLC (“Arcadia”) to identify IP addresses associated with hackers that use hacked passwords and the Internet to access Plaintiff’s private website and content.
[to do this] Arcadia used forensic software named Trader Hacker and Intruder Evidence Finder 2.0 (T.H.I.E.F.) to detect hacking, unauthorized access, and password sharing activity on Plaintiff’s websites.
Arcadia‘s address is the same address for LMC. Arcadia’s sole member is Steve Jones (likewise Matthew P. Collins is the Organizer of Arcadia and Attorney of Record for LMC).
Furthermore, guess who owns, markets and likely commissioned the creation of the forensic software? Yup, Steve Jones (www.arcadiasecurity.com ²). So a more accurate statement of paragraph 14 would be “Plaintiff’s principal, Steve Jones, retained Steve Jones to use Steve Jones’s forensic software to identify…”. No reports, investigations or testimony would be admissible in an honest court because they would be found to have been issued or given by a “biased expert” or one who has a financial interest in the outcome of the lawsuit.
What is the Amount of Money Involved In This Lawsuit?
LMC is claiming damages in excess of $100,000 plus attorney’s fees and costs. Back to reality, Buffy the Pirate Hunter (a.k.a. John Steele) has threatened to sue individuals and if that is the case then, in my opinion, LMC’s damages would be the cost of a lost monthly membership ($34.95 – $39.95) if a case actually went to trial.
What of Earth is Going on With Count I of the Complaint?
LMC’s troll is bringing lawsuit in a state court based upon a federal statute known as the Computer Fraud and Abuse Act (CFAA) on the ground that John Doe and his 6,500 co-conspirators used hacked passwords to access his websites (how this could happen to a former computer consultant who has been working in online porno business since 1999 is beyond me). On its face it looks a little scary but I do not believe the troll has pleaded a claim that would survive a motion to dismiss. This is because to make such a case the troll has to prove that his client sustained “damage” or “loss” of at least $5,000 which I think is not realistic.
The CFAA states that “damage” means any impairment to the integrity or availability of data, a program, a system, or information and “loss” means any reasonable cost to any victim, including the cost of responding to an offense, conducting a damage assessment, and restoring the data, program, system, or information to its condition prior to the offense, and any revenue lost, cost incurred, or other consequential damages incurred because of interruption of service. In plain English and within the context of this lawsuit it means that the Troll has to show that LMC spent at least $5,000 to repair and/or re-secure his websites. The complaint claims it can reach this amount “in the form of actual damages, statutory damages, and reputational injury” but there are no statutory damages contained in the CFAA and as to reputational injuries to a pornographer that uses models/actresses who are barely 18… good luck with that.
What About the state claims of conversion, unjust enrichment, breach of contract and civil Conspiracy?
The simpler ones (conversion and unjust enrichment) are arguably valid but the damages are small ($34.95 – $39.95). The other two causes of action (breach of Contract and civil conspiracy), in my opinion, are laughable under the circumstances of this lawsuit.
I will keep an eye on these cases and, if the need arises, write a post about personal jurisdiction and removal under the Federal Rules of Civil Procedure. In the meantime, do not feed the trolls.
Thanks to On2ndthought for unearthing some interesting facts presented in this post.
Notes
A resource and discussion page dedicated to Lightspeed “hacking” cases.
4/16/2012: A follow-up post: Attorney’s opinion: Lightspeed’s claim is a farce.
5/5/2012: Another follow-up post by Raul: Lightspeed Media Corporation v. John Doe: a quick follow-up Q & A.
Here is an interesting blog post about St. Clair county and its public servants.
¹ Pay attention to the address where deposition is set to take place: this is the official Prenda Law headquarters (a.k.a Troll Central).
² Initially I linked to www.arcadiasecurity.com, but it was brought to my attention that Steve Jones redirects to a Google image search for “gay love”. Is this how a mature individual behaves? You decide. Update: now it redirects to the Facebook main page; also, Steve Jones’s name is not listed in the domain name registration anymore: don’t worry, we have plenty of screenshots.
Fight © Trolls 
they cannot “force” you to pay anything unless YOU are actually served with a court subpoena AND a judgement is issued against you. they rarely, if ever, actually do this and i doubt your MTD/Q/Sever will get denied if you are not even in IL.
problem is filing a MTD/Q/Sever is expensive, my attorney said it could be done for about $5k
however, if Does out there want to pay, I’d say pay it into the justice system rather than to the extorsionists
the thing is that if 6500 people filed motions even without attourneys it would OVERWHELM the court system and would force someone to take a serious look at their claims.
Has anybody been served by Comcast yet in the Illinois case? If so when Is the date for the information to be released?
Comcast notified me already. In the midst of my shock and utter confusion, I found this website and spoke with an attorney. My personal info is slated to be release the next business day after May 10th unless I filed an order to quash/dismiss. I’m expecting an extorsion letter by the end of May.
This website has been very helpful into educating me on the case i’m apparently involved in, what corporation Lightspeed Media is, and how the situation came about
Did Comcast send you a Doe list? Are there really 6500 involved in the suit? What is the date range on the complaint?
As far as being worried, it appears that unless you are in either Illinois, California or Florida the chances of actually being sued in this case (or any Prenda case for that matter) are almost nonexistent. They (Prenda) have filed suit in both DC and Texas as well but as far as I know they have not filled against individuals there. Even in the states where they have filled against individuals it seems that they only file suit against people that either incriminate themselves or others. If you don’t talk to them you may have nothing to worry about. IMHO.
I think I received a portion of the list, about 75 IP addresses with mine hilighted, date range Aug-Dec 2011. No thief ID or whatever its called has been associated with each address. I’m not located in Illinois, CA, FL, DC, or TX. I’d never even heard of St. Clair County until receiving notice from my ISP and read this website.
I received a similar letter from Comcast also with the same May 10 date. I checked with an attorney about filing an MTQ and was told there is a very low probability that the MTQ would be successful. Their recommendations were to either:
1. Pay the extortionists $2,500 plus $500 attorney fees before May 10 to make this go away without revealing my identity. OR
2. Do nothing, let Comcast disclose my identity and hope their case is unsuccessful in the courts. The downside of this choice is that my identity will be in the public record and if Lightspeed is successful, the settlement cost will be many times the $2,500.
At this point, I’m not sure what I’ll do.
That’s exactly what the crooks want: to push you act quickly, imposing artificial deadlines. This is a sleazy tactics any reputable attorney would stand far away from. Telemarketers use this too. And what? Did you ever heard that the price went up after such a “deadline”? In CA, the very same Prenda Law lowered their demand after singling out a defendant, from 3,550 to 3,000! That tells a lot about these scumbags. No, they won’t dramatically increase their settlement, they will be willing to negotiate. But do you really want to give them your hard earned money for nothing? To make you pay they must file a lawsuit against you in your state, and in your state you have excellent attorneys that don’t cost arm and leg and 2 leagues higher than any of the trolls. And to have your name listed in a lawsuit that will crumble soon? Unless you are not a schoolteacher, what is the big deal about it? The error rate of the software a pornographer wrote himself is astonishing.
$3k is a much better quote than the $5k settlement before discovery I was told from an attorney I spoke with
i’m still torn on what to do, trying to decide if harassment and possible litigation is worth it over paying to make it go away
I’m fully aware that paying the ransom is just that…sometimes I think the peace of mind I’d have might be worth it even though I know the extortionists are getting the better of me
Harassment – yes, 100% likelihood. Possible litigation – no, 0.01% likelihood.
My subpeona letter says May 18th, 2012.
Trolling has been going on for awhile in IL, has it ever been reported on by the Chicago Tribune? Is their law reporter Ameet Sachdev any good? I would like to drop the guy a line about the misdoings in St. Clair but will refrain if it is a waste of time.
I have not seen any articles about trolling Does in the Tribune, but Ameet Sachdev has covered other infringement lawsuits. http://articles.chicagotribune.com/2012-04-06/business/ct-biz-0406-chicago-law-patents–20120406_1_google-and-facebook-video-sharing-x-rated-videos
as unpopular as it is, has anyone settled? what assurance is given that you are no longer involved? you receive any documentation?
I asked the attorney that question – if I pay the ransom to settle, are there any assurances they won’t bring another suit later and demand payment again. I was told that has rarely happened, although it has happened in a couple of cases where the person admitted to downloading copyright material and or file sharing on a regular basis.
But this is still a significant concern to me.
I would only settle if you are actually guilty of sharing passwords and their media. I did nothing of the sort and will not pay for this junk. Why would I settle and then a couple months later a new company tries to get money from me.
I WILL NEVER PAY THEM, NO MATTER WHAT. I DIDN’T DO ANYTHING, THIS IS HOW PORN COMPANIES MAKE MONEY NOW, BLACKMAIL.
Meanwhile over at gfy.com the feud between SteveLightspeed and DamianJ continues but for real chuckles check out the exchange between Just Alex and Sleazydream which continues to its funny conclusion on the next page http://m.gfy.com/showthread.php?t=1065839&page=6
Hi Raul, I have a question for you, as you seem to be very well informed about this and I am not. I was served with a subpoena from Comcast stating that I had illegally downloaded a movie infringing upon Lightspeed Media’s copyright. It said that if I do not file a motion to quash, my information would be released to Prenda. I live in California and the lawsuit was filed in St. Clair, IL. I don’t know anything at all about legal matters and am confused reading most of the comments here. What I would like to do, if this is possible, is file a motion to quash and contest the release of my information, without getting a lawyer involved, because I can’t possibly afford one right now. Can you please help explain to me what I should know before I begin? How do I go about this? I know you aren’t providing legal advice, but advice in general would help.
I live in CA also and have never downloaded a movie. I have 3 roommates but my name is on the bill so I am getting stuck with this BS lawsuit. I cannot afford a lawyer either and do not know what to do. Can they determine which computer it came from using the computer’s IP address? The IP address listed in the subpoena is from my modem not my computer. Is there a way to pinpoint which actual computer it was downloaded on? I
Who is interested in banding together to get a group rate?
The only thing the Troll has is the public IP address assigned by your ISP. As you had multiple people using the Internet connection, all the “internal” devices were given an internal IP address that the Troll will never know of. If your Firewall/Router had logging enabled (it is often OFF by default) you may be able to determine which device did this. I say “might,” because the logging on these devices is so short; often on a day or two at the most. As the Troll did not file any DMCA notices immediately, you are unlikely to be able to find anything. Not that the Troll really cares. He is going to threaten you with doom & gloom unless you pay him. He doesn’t know about your roommates, but would love for you to tell him that. BE WARNED – telling the Troll anything like that is bound to get you in more trouble. The troll will use anything you tell him (like – “Hey my roommates did this, not me.”) to his advantage. They have pitted family members and friends against one another because of greed. And then think if your roommate gets upset and claims “You” did it. DON’T talk to the Troll except to give him the Richard Pryor Response and only get a lawyer if you get a court summons or subpoena for a deposition. The less the Troll knows the better off you are.
DTD 🙂
Unfortunately this is a state court action so a motion to quash needs to argue Illinois civil procedure and state caselaw (although federal caselaw would be applicable). It looks as if numerous Doe motions have been filed but the St. Clair Circuit Clerk’s online docket service does not allow you to view them so that one could be obtained, modified and then filed on your behalf. My hope is that the Does in this case would find a way to band together as a group and retain counsel at a group rate to defend this nonsense but I have not seen any initiative in that direction yet. I am sorry that I have not been of any help but the scumbags have gamed this one so that it is manifestly unfair to the Does who can/cannot afford counsel. Take a look here https://www.eff.org/issues/file-sharing/subpoena-defense and here http://dietrolldie.com/motions/ I have previousl left the names and contact info on the lawyers who have appeared as defense counsel in these threads, give them a call as some lawyers do initial consultations for free.
weren’t those lawyers listed working for the ISPs? thought I read it would be a conflict of interest if they represented Does (or maybe I read that wrong)
I’d be interested in banding together, unfortunately I only have 9 days left as my date of discovery is May 10th (and it looks like on the St. Clair docket something is scheduled for the 14th?)
I received a phone call from prenda, and im not to sure what it means. Does it mean that they’re getting ready to take me to court, the letter i received for settlement is deadlined for tomorrow the 2nd. I’m not paying for something i didnt do. The only evidence they claim to have is a IP address linked to my account on a certain date, Anyone could have done this. Theres no possible way this lack of evidence can hold up in court is there?
you have the phone number they called from? preparing myself in absolutely every way when my harassment begins, want to note what numbers Prenda is
No srry it only show up as Washington DC Cell, and i already deleted the message
It looks like Comcast is sending out the subpoenas with different information release dates. I wonder how they are doing this? Are only people in California getting the May 18th? What about Illinois? Are people subpoenaed in Illinos getting the 10th or the 18th?
i’m involved in the IL case and got May 10th
Mine date says June 26, 2012. I’m in WA State…
Is June 26th the date on the Comcast letter or subpoena?
Are you in Cali or Illinois? I am only wondering because if the are different release dates will Comcast extend the time frame for certain does. That way people can better coordinate.
located in neither state (i’m in Minnesota) but the subpoena Comcast received says my discovery of info will happen after May 10th if I don’t file MTQ/dismiss
comcast in MA has date of 5/18
Just an FYI…Comcast letter rec’d in MN. Letter from Comcast was dated 4/27/12, states that the order was entered 4/12/12, and the “reply with MTQ date” is 5/18/12.
A question too…I intend on writing a MTQ letter to send to the 20th Judicial Circuit in St. Clair County, IL. How to I phrase it when referring to myself as a DOE, where all examples I see use language along the lines of DOE No. 32, or to the defendants as DOEs 1-6500, etc.? Should I make an arbitrary no. for myself? I’d like to do this letter totally anonymously, not even referencing my IP address…thoughts?
sounds like Comcast has different dates for the same case; i’m also in MN, involved in the St. Clair case, my date of discovery is set for May 10th
would love to see your/borrow your MTQ, was debating to file as well but was told by several attorneys it will probably be a waste of time as Plaintiff will eventually get discovery, plus I was worried submitting MTQ pro se would be incorrectly written and the judge simply would throw it out…how much $$$ to file MTQ anyway?
Did the letters arrive ups or USPS?
mine came via UPS
What I’m wondering is, because I don’t know the law, can a lawyer from anywhere in Illinois represent does. There appear to be a number of lawyers from Chicago on the eff list. If a group of does got together and somehow contacted one of them they may be open to a group rate.
If there is a IL lawyer willing to do a group rate, I’d be interested. I think my Comcast letter said May 20.
Speak to some and see if they would be interested in posting their info on this site.
And since the May 10th and 18th were both dates set by Comcast, as the actual dates the information must be received by Prenda are in mid to late June, I’m wondering if an email to Comcast would be enough to ask for an extension of a week or two.
how do you know those dates were set by Comcast?
This seems to vary by ISP, their legal department, and even by case. Some ISP’s were effectively delay release of information if they either receive a call from an attorney saying that a motion (to quash, for example) is pending (though it only maybe is pending), or if they receive a copy of the Doe’s motion that will be submitted to the court.
If you are going to “ask” for an extension, at least let them know that a motion is being prepared. It is suggested to contact the ISP legal department by PHONE-sometimes a staff person can be more informative speaking directly.
As Ron Mexico’s questions suggests, check the court order/subpoena TO the ISP (not the Doe) if you can, to see by what date the ISP is ordered to release information. An ISP that is decent to its customers should at the MINIMUM wait as long as possible to release information.
Because according to Steele’s post the information doesn’t have to be in to them until June. The ISP’s try to give themselves about a month to gather their information and send it out. If you at a Doe who does nothing you probably won’t hear from Prenda until weeks after that. So if your info is released the harassment may not start until July.
Im in IL with a date of may 18th. I’m still clueless on this whole situation. I’ve never heard of this company subpoenaing me nor have I downloaded any movies which this letter states I have. Some replies state if I do nothing the worst I’ll get is phone calls / letters asking for money. Others say if I do nothing it could cost me thousands? If I get an my attorney to do a ‘MTQ’ (not even sure what that is) my info wont be released and I’m done? or is there more down the road?
we’re all clueless as to what’s going on; i’ve been here reading for 1.5 weeks and still feel like i’m under educated, not to mention how I could ever be mixed up in a sharing password & sharing video legal matter as I’ve done neither
take some time to read the entire website including all the comments (i.e. grab a cup of coffee and a comfy chair)…you’ll feel much much better after all the reading
I received a letter from Comcast. I recently contacted Celestine Dotson, a lawyer representing the Does, thanks to Raul’s list. She is building a defense on the case. She is working on getting this dismissed on a few different bases. If anyone wanted to speak with her you can call (314) 454-6543. If you are considering fighting this she can give you some advice.
I would love to see Ms. Dotson post on here stating her intentions and her interest in helping. Would she rather the Does contact her by phone? She have an email address for contact?
On my side I can do whatever is needed: create a dedicated page/discussion, either open or password-protected, post updates/announcements etc.
sophisticatedjanedoe
I have been sent a letter from Comcast saying that they were going to release my information by May 18th. Media Lightspeed Corporation saying that they have my IP address. What should I do? Is this just a fishing scam? Should I let things just progress on their own? Please respond ASAP. Also, let me know what your email is so we can discuss the situation. Thank you so very much in advance.
Well, welcome to the “club”: you are one of 6,500 victims of the Lighspeed/Steele scam (and 250,000 of similar law abuses). Yes, it is scam, yet technically on the verge of legality. At this point read around, educate yourself and transform from “scared” to “pissed off”. Good you have found this article, there is also a dedicated page where people discuss this case’s bells and whistles, including tactics and strategies.
As for my email, it is listed on this site and can be easily found, yet I ask for a mercy. I feel really bad when I can’t reply to everyone (I try!), but I simply cannot afford it as it is physically impossible: I’m not a lawyer or professional blogger, I have a daytime job, family and friends. The very goal behind creating this resource was to conceive a community for Does to get educated, comforted and help each other, not to advertise myself as a troll expert. This goal is kind of achieved, so ask your questions and answer to ones that others ask when you acquire certain understanding of the subject. I really don’t possess any crystal ball or sacred knowledge: what I know is spread over this and similar sites. Yes, of course I know a lot and have my opinions, but unless your situation is very unusual, please do your online research and ask around here first.
Here is a post from John Steele or one of his supporters on my Blog. Nothing too surprising.
DTD 🙂
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Post is at http://dietrolldie.com/2012/04/26/who-is-afraid-of-the-big-bad-wolf-prenda-law-and-the-phamtom-john-doe-case-312-cv-02049-ca/
From: JohnDoe (IP address (IP: 95.211.92.234 , nl2.mullvad.net – Mullvad Proxy Service- Same one John has used in the past)
Silly rabbits. The cases have begin to be filed. I know. Your thinking, where are they? Your forgetting something, these are state court cases, not federal, thus there will not be any handy ECF for you peeps. Which got ol’ Brett, aka “Mr. Evil”, to point out something very interesting to the Troll. He said why post all the information on the new suits for everyone and make it easier for them to find/fight/publicize during the first 30 days? (Hint: The 30 days is a clue). So don’t worry, they are not filing in little county court houses, most without electronic filing systems, throughout the country every day and serving people left and right. They didn’t just pay over $4000 in process server fees for April serving individual basement beaters. They didn’t just help Yuen get his reverse promotion (I wonder which partner the newly minted associate Yuen reports to?) Steele didn’t just didn’t kick every major ISP’s ass in DC last Friday, and everything is going just fine for you guys. Lutz and his new boy aren’t slapping people around while playing “Gimme the Loot”. And some large studios did not reach out to beg Prenda to become new clients. About that bridge I have for sale . . .
ps. You rub a dub champs always bitch about ex parte hearings and sleazy court antics by Trolls. But in April, I understand Steele went all over the damn country to 4, FOUR, Quattro, major evidentiary hearings (2 in DC Circuit Court alone) in which every major ISP in the country was there fighting on behalf of their thieving clients, and Steele strained his leg kicking their ass every time. I hear he even appears at other hearings and whispers little helpful tidbits in other Trolls ears in certain Western states (which is why they are starting to work even there). It must be the airline miles since this litigation doesn’t work right? But just in case, pirate names come to papa!!
pps. Relatedly, I hear the depo of Yuen’s client went real well (Side note: 300 lbs, slurpy in hand, greasy hair, right out of central casting), especially when he admitted to going to the Pirate Bay and downloading porn while Yuen sat there typing on his laptop. I hope more people hire Yuen. Maybe he could get promoted to Clerk!
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Could be an excuse as to why he did not post the 100 individually named defendants on his website with the rest being nothing more than hot air
If true it means he has served approximately 50 Does, will wait 30 days for the Doe to answer or move to dismiss the BS complaint. If the Doe does not answer or move to dismiss he will swiftly move for a default judgment and claim victory to the world. But what happens if he gets a default judgment? Then he will have to offer proof as to damages to get a money judgment. As I have said in the post above, plaintiffs unmitigated damages are the cost of a lost monthly membership $35-$40, if that. State judges are going to “love” having their dockets clogged with these two bit lawsuits.
How can a state judge issue a default judgement in a copyright case without jurisdiction?
The district courts shall have original jurisdiction of any civil action arising under any Act of Congress relating to patents, plant variety protection, copyrights and trademarks. No State court shall have jurisdiction over any claim for relief arising under any Act of Congress relating to patents, plant variety protection, or copyrights. For purposes of this subsection, the term “State” includes any State of the United States, the District of Columbia, the Commonwealth of Puerto Rico, the United States Virgin Islands, American Samoa, Guam, and the Northern Mariana Islands.
http://www.law.cornell.edu/uscode/text/28/1338
You are correct. In my opinion a judge, who allows federal claim to be litigated in a state court, should be reported and disciplined. In Florida trolls at least use state law and don’t claim anything — just want the names. Here it is a full blown complaint that alleges a federal tort. I would be interested in a lawyer’s opinion.
You are right, federal courts have exclusive jurisdiction over certain matters like bankruptcy and copyrights. However a CFAA claim is not exclusive to federal courts and a state court can adjudicate a CFAA claim no matter how specious.
I had to goolgle CFAA.. So… they can abuse the state courts for these password sharing cases but the older BitTorrent sharing cases would still need to be filed in federal court?
Yes
Ok… So then Steele can only file in state court For these password sharing cases? I don’t understand how the CFAA applies to the older BitTorrent cases.
Comcast sent me the subpoena via UPS this week. Count me as confused and unsure how my IP got on that list of around 75 that was included in the subpoena. I am in touch with an attorney, but wondered if anyone had success in filing a MTQ so far in this case.
I just spoke to Celestine Dotson as mentioned earlier and she has a plan to quash the notifications, and said the more people involved with her the better. I directed her to this site too. Hope this helps
Anon E Mous,
I seem to have misplaced Ms. Dotson’s address, telephone number and email address. Could you be so kind as to refresh my recollection?
Thanks
So we need to reach out to her to be included? Is her preference that we call her directly? Or email?
I done reasearch into Ms Dotson and found out she be a long time friend of John Steele. Maybe Steele and her here are in cahoots and getting all us frontways and backways? I ain’t gonna fall for that bs.
If you want someone to defend you in an internet case it is reasonable to expect that they at least have a website.
Whyme,
Please share your research that Ms. Dotson and John Steele are friends, I must have missed that somehow unless you are just making it up?
I smell a troll.
Or a balding, washed up pornographer with no friends.
Methinks you hit the nail squarely on the head, Raul!
The trolls get more obvious every time they post. How desperate do you have to be to come on here and get called out every single time like that? I mean, it’s got to be a little bit embarrasing huh, whyme?
I do like your username though…as in “oh whyme? Why did I ever think people would just shake in their boots and hand over money to me and my extortion without fighting back? whyme?!?!”
Seriously buddy, you’ve gone and turned the internet upon you. The biggest mistake I’ve ever seen a person make is to somehow think they are smarter than everyone else. I’d say good luck to you but I wouldn’t mean it.
Been doing a little googling of our friend Steve. I see that he started a false rumor in 2010 that one of his most popular models, Tawnee Stone, was killed in a car accident. Seems like a particularly nasty rumor to promote.
What seems to have happened is that Tammy (her real name) retired from porn. One site says she retired from porn several years ago and has been working as an accountant under her real name.
Lightspeed didn’t want to call attention to the fact that the material with her was getting very old and he wasn’t posting any updates, so he made up the rumor that she died. A couple of weeks later, she posted on her Twitter account (https://twitter.com/#!/tammysaris) that she was “alive and well.”
Here’s a post from one forum by someone who knows Mr. Lightspeed/Jones:
“I am not happy with him right now at all. He told everyone that she died, even close friends. He could have told some of us he was making shit up, which I would not have supported it at all.
I can promise you he will have a ton of people pissed off at him for doing this. The people that work in adult do not ever forget things like this and 10 years from now they will still be hanging this over his head.
Not sure why he could not just take the site down and that was it. No need to fake a death, just say she moved on and retired.”
Also, another of his most popular models, Jordan Capri, is said to have had a hard time in recent years. According to one site, she said the “porn industry sucks” and quit, and she’s gone to prison twice for DUIs.
Not much of a legacy for a porn studio, I’d say.
The link to the forum thread. NSFW!
WORST “JOKE” EVER!
http://gfy.com/showthread.php?t=1005208
Dotson- (314) 454-6543
Not sure of her preferred contact method.
I talked to a criminal attorney today even tho this issue is cival. He recommended to settle, but i’m not going down without a fight. I don’t really think he knew what he was looking at when i showed the paperwork these idiots sent. I’m going to meet with a copywrite lawyer tomorrow and see what he says. I’ll let everybody know how it goes tomorrow
Good luck! Be sure to show the attorney Judge Brown’s ORR and mention that, according to Raul, this is nothing more than a disguised copyright infringement action which ougth to be pre-emted by the Copyright Act.
Has anyone filed a motion? i was told by an attorney that filing a motion might draw attention to you, and also might be denied and set u back a couple hundred dollars. even though the motion would be anonymous it can still draw attention to your ip address. upon receiving the letter i have learned that my wifi connection was unsecured and that was told to me by a Comcast employee after talking to him about the letter. But how will i be able to prove that my router was unsecured is there a way the router knows…this is only relevant if i actually get singled out and brought to trial…though i am so confused i am seriously considering settlement. though i have heard on this site to wait it out.
There are different opinions about whether filing motions draws attention to a Doe. Some argue that a Doe filing a motion shows that the Doe is more likely to be informed and fight back. A Doe pushing back is a poor target for the trolls.
There are different trolls and troll lawyers. If they weren’t disturbed people, they would be doing different work. Decide what is best rather than trying to guess future actions of crummy people.
I recall some post on DTD’s site about documenting your router set up, but could not find it on quick search. If your ISP supplied the unsecured router, documentation would seem easier. Both you and the ISP probably have some record of the router type. For now, document your current router set up. Note if it was the same at the time of the allegation. If there are other wireless signals received in your place, get a screen shot or other documentation. If you can get nearby Wifi signals, so can others.
Have a look at the general info at DTD if it is new to you:
http://dietrolldie.com/newbie-noob-start-here/
In general, the chances of things going to discovery let alone trial are tiny. However, since the trolls are interested in extorting rather than discussing, avoid giving trolls information about the router unsecured status at this point. Avoid talking to trolls.
The Lightspeed cases are especially flimsy, even compared to the other junk troll cases. There was no “sharing” or “distribution”. Trolls would have to name and file in your jurisdiction to take action. More regions are become hostile to trolls-yours may be one. An unsecured router makes a troll case harder to prove. The nature of trolling is to move on and look for the easiest unprepared weak citizen victims.
To get involved w/ Dotson it is $1000. About 1/3 the cost to settle and that could be only the beginning of legal fees.
I’d be willing to spend $1k on MTQ. If it is unsuccessful, I was planning on filing a declaratory judgement action as soon as my extortion letter arrived anyway.
Forgive my ignorance, but what is a declaratory judgement action?
I didn’t know what that was either. As an attorney I spoke to put it, you go to court and ask the judge to declare that you did not infringe. Which for many of us here, we didn’t.
How could the judge in this case already allow the IP discovery motion and deny any contention? Whatever happened to innocent until proven guilty, wouldn’t the plaintiff have the burden of proof to show HOW the hacking damages exceeded $5,000 per IP incident before being granted the subpeona?
Ron, i’m from the same state as you, did you get any advice regarding legal jurisdiction?
1. Judge is a county court judge, county courts are understaffed/underfunded – he physically cannot read all the documents and trust lawyers
2. Judge is corrupt
3. Both
the three attorneys I spoke to advised me that they would have to file suit in my locality
by including you, me, and all the others not in the state of Illinois in the St. Clair case, they’re only after discovery of info so they can send out extortion letters demanding settlement
if and when I receive that letter, I’m debating whether or not to file a declaratory judgement action in my locality (i’m not sure whether or not I will be sued) but I wanted to do something preemptive in anticipation of being sued
I think the rough parameters of the Master Plan are:
1. Get Doe info out of St. Clair and FL.
2. Send extortion letters to the 6500 Does.
3. Name and serve a very small percentage (maybe 1-2%) of Does in those state courts where Prenda has attorneys to spread FUD.
4. If the named and served Doe retains an attorney and will not settle, Prenda will drop the lawsuit.
5. If the Doe does not retain an attorney, does not settle and does not put in a pro se answer or motion to dismiss, Prenda will wait 30 days and move for default. Get the default and shout it from the rooftop to spread more FUD. Prenda will have a hard time getting a sizable default judgment because Lightspeed’s damages are small ($40 ballpark plus court costs which would be less than $400 IMHO for a total default judgment in the area of of less than $500)
It should be noted that supposedly Prenda has named and served approximately 50 Does yet we have not heard from one of them?
Sorry if this has been answered before but do we know which state courts they actually have attorneys in?
If that is the case, can Prenda afford to have a case go to default? If it gets that far and they only get a default judgement of around $500 then the FUD factor totally collapses!
Keep in mind this is far from Plan A. In spite of John’s protestations to the contrary, copyright trolling has become far more difficult in the last few months. We are regularly seeing large cases dismissed before discovery, where it used to be that they would be severed by a judge, but only after the Trolls were able to get the subscriber info they wanted, so in some large venues they simply can’t even get the scam off the ground.
In terms of growing the business, aside from the claims that Prenda would have many more lawyers and resources, it sounds like all John has to brag about is a sidekick for Lutz. Oh there’s Duffy, but he hasn’t been much use.
Basically, this is the result of Does wining lots of little battles and forcing Prenda into a reactive strategy. We have no idea yet what they are attempting to do in terms of what laws they will sue under, how much they will ask for in demand letters or default judgements, etc., but this may well be a Hail Mary pass to try to save the entire operation.
Really excited to see what they try, because with the amount of slop that went into the BitTorrent cases, suing for works that hadn’t been registered, etc., if they are more desperate they are likely to be more abusive. This will suck for a few Does that get caught up in it but it could also lead to some real inexcusable overreach by Prenda that gets them disbarred, massively countersued, and jailed.
after talking to comcast they advised me to secure my router…but after calling my router company they said my router was too old to be covered by any tech support it was purchased in 2010…so i went and bought a new router that has security built into it i guess…i will save the receipts just in case. should i keep the old router or no….i had another question is there anyway that these trolls wont be able to get your information? i keep hearing that they will eventually…but is there anything anyone is doing to stop?….with out filing any motions or such is there anybody doing anything?….it seems so unfair to people…..someone used my connection in my apartments and probably has been for years and i get involved in this mess…
Just answering the question about the router.
You should ABSOLUTELY keep the old router. You should also keep any records you can collect about when the router was provided, the specifications and manual for the router, and documentation from the ISP itself that they provided this router, with the model and serial number.
Keep these materials at least until the statute of limitations ends.
Get screens shots and documentation of wireless signals you receive at your place. If signals reach you, then your signals likely reach others in a similar range.
I think DTD and others have posted more recommendations about networks and other evidence for defense.
While the probability of a Doe having to mount a real defense in real trial proceedings is very low, it will give extra piece of mind to have material ready just in case. If you did need, in an extreme scenario, to retain a lawyer, this evidence for defense might strengthen the lawyer’s negotiating position. Though chances of needing things is slight, it’s better to be prepared.
Trolls prefer easy targets-that’s part of what makes them parasites, not citizens.
here is what i do not understand…they collected the ip’s for a year, but cox has stated that they only retain their ip logs for 6 mo’s and many other ISP’s maintain similar data logging timelines (http://www.wired.com/politics/onlinerights/news/2007/05/isp_privacy) granted that is a 2007 article so it may have changed but i don’t think so. so they are going to get ALOT of false positives. infact the reason for expidited discovery is because they KNOW that the isp’s do not retain the ip logs longer that 6mo’s out. so who is really getting nailed here??
There will not be false positives in the sense that you are thinking.
Example:
Plaintiff attorney sends subpoena to any ISP. The subpoena lists the IP address, date, time, and file that was allegedly downloaded.
If the date and time on the subpoena are outside of the ISP’s retention range, then they will not be able to respond with any information. The ISP does not just pick a name out of a hat.
The ISP will respond with “Subscriber data not available for xx/xx/xxxx date and IP address.
The larger ISP’s, Time Warner, Verizon, Comcast, and AT&T, have retention policies beyond six months. Most likely eighteen months or longer.
so about my router…i contacted netgear and they said i had called them in march of 2010 when i had purchased this router and actually helped me set up security on my router…but she said during any point if i had ever reset the router….i have had so many problems with internet connection with comcast that i may reseted the router over a dozen times and this is where she says if you do that..the security of the router goes away and the router that i have is default to run without security… its the older models….unlike the new ones that have it built in this one you have to do it manually which i still don’t know how to.
1. My question is will Comcast have records of me calling them about my internet connection not working?
2. This is all relevant is i actually get singled out…but i want to be prepared since i have heard they go after people in California innocent or not.
I have a strange vibe about your posts. This is the fourth post were you mention “being single out” or “settlement”.
Anybody else feels this way? Do I smell a troll plot?
50/50: inconclusive, though the alert is justified. We’ll see. It’s better err on the side of trust.
http://www.geekosystem.com/ip-address-insufficient-id/
If everyone prays that Steve Jones gets cancer, do you think it will help?
That would be a lot of prayers.
What I can’t understand… If I hurt someone’s feelings, someone I don’t know… for example falsely accused someone of being a forum troll. It can cost me a sleepless night, seriously. I just can’t live with a feeling I did something wrong that provoked hatred or anger unjustly. And the fact that I would be paid for that would even worsen the situation. There are thousands of ways to make money and at the same time give and receive happiness.
Now we have so called “humans” who deliberately make thousands of enemies on a weekly basis. I just can’t comprehend…
Yup, I think jager was just having a minor heart attack but you never know… . After all a troll did play me once or twice but it is best to err on the side of assistance rather than deny assistance to Does who just might be having a breakdown. Please come back we want to help but trolls stoop to the lowesdt of lows so our guard is always up.
Eh, it would probably make people sympathetic towards him, and you don’t want that. Besides, I’m sure everyone here has been perusing local message boards of churches and PTA’s in Phoenix to leave messages making sure everyone there knows that a porn operation is right there in the community. I’m sure there are still lots of people that don’t know. There are probably message boards for all the local TV stations, newspapers etc. Just a nice friendly note to let everyone know the name and address of a local pornographer would be a public service. We would hate for Steve to be sick during all of that…
It has happened before. I was played by a troll who tried to exploit this blog’s generous spirit to enact a little “play” in which the troll acted as a Doe in full blown panic mode. I’m gullible; so was suckered into the scam for several comments but ultimately figured I was being played. jäger may just be freaking out and needs some hand holding, we’ll see.
Maybe concerned members of the public should report Prenda and their fellow travelers to their respective State Bars.
sorry if my posts suggest that i m trolling but i am not.. thanks Raul for giving me the benefit of the doubt i just have a lot of questions…i have never been involved in anything like this and recently found out what any of this is after receiving the letter. This is causing me more problems than anything else…i may not be the most tech savvy person this is why i need help to how this happened…thanks SJD and Raul….i say being singled out because i have read from other comments that they go after rich or people in California more than any other state is this true??
It’s state by state, because that’s how the legal system is set up. Each state has its own bar. Prendas lawyers are largely admitted in CA (from what I’ve read), thus they largely sue people in CA.
Ron,
So are you saying we shouldn’t take any action until they start filing in our state?
If they file suit in your state against you, you have no choice but to take action (i.e. respond to the complaint) otherwise the trolls will receive default judgement.
The declaratory judgement motion I’ve been debating was a preemptive action before they file suit in my state, and even that depends on when and if I receive the extortion letter. My preference is still to prevent discovery of info although that seems unlikely to work in the St. Clair case.
Ineed, since the judge is being ignorant in this case and dismissing any motions, may as well save that money to fight those barely legal extortionists (pun intended).
Do you think calling up our congressman/woman would help the fight?
How about calling the state branch of the ACLU ? The entrapment and surveillance technology (done by unaccountable overseas extortionists) threatens civil liberties extremely.
The Fight Against Copyright Enforcement & The Fight For Civil Liberties Are The Same
https://torrentfreak.com/the-fight-against-copyright-enforcement-the-fight-for-civil-liberties-are-the-same-120404/
I see Steve Jones now licensed his version of JW Player. What a coincidence.
I just got my letter.. I’m in PA. This just seems so wrong.. I just need to figure out how to ‘fight’ this without spending any money. And if Ms Dotson is charging $1000.00 per person, she’s not much better.
$1k to file an MTQ is much much cheaper than the $5k a local attorney quoted me.
I’d just like to see her reach out to this website so we can help her get organized and vice versa
I’m in NH, and I got a letter from my ISP today. I’ve been reading this and other sites covering this subject, but so far I have no clear idea of how I should proceed in a way that would be both prudent and economical. I contacted the Electronic Frontier Foundation and they pointed me to a list of attorneys to contact, so I guess that’s my next step. I have very little money and little time to deal with this garbage.
Prenda does not have a presence in NH so just sit tight, ignore the threatening letters and calls. Do not speak to the troll and this will ultimately blow over. With 6500 Does out there that are being extorted the odds are that Prenda is going to mess with someone that they should have left alone and this scam will explode in their faces. It is my guess that Prenda is only going to name and sue 1-2% of Does to try to terrorize the rest to settle by being able to point to those examples. With these numbers Prenda simply does not have the resources to name and sue more. Yesterday, I elaborated on this post as to my educated guess how this scam will play out, scroll up.
To the newly served, when are the deadline dates for your information to be turned over? Who are your isp’s?
A few quick points. Raul made many already.
1-Check out the orienting info at DTD.
http://dietrolldie.com/newbie-noob-start-here/
2-You don’t necessarily need a NH attorney for initial advice. Of course, if you are aiming to prevent legal discovery in the NH, something may need to be filed in IL. See SJD’s resource page here for names of some experienced attorneys nationwide. Some give free initial consultations.
3-Part of the scam is that it costs very little time and money for the trolls to make their extortionist threats. Most Does find that it does take some time to gather information, and, if necessary, to respond. This is very convenient and sometimes costly, to say the least. This is part of the “inequality of arms” that SJD refers to:
https://fightcopyrighttrolls.com/about/
4-One point of possible comfort: There have been NH less than 20 copyright cases of any kind in NH in the last three years. It’s not good for troll business since the population is smaller. Trolls would have to file against you in your jurisdiction. They would have to find a local lackey. A porn studio copyright case there would really stick out — bad for trolls. A lackey lawyer would quickly lose reputation there. NHers take care of their own. Judges will not look kindly on AZ or CA porn lords using a scam to siphon cash from NH neighbors
http://www.rfcexpress.com/search.asp?page=1&CourtIDs=53&caseTypes=%27C%27
SJD,
I realize that my guess as to Prenda’s Master Plan could very easily come back and make me look like an idiot but I do not care. When you have a free moment can you please add it as an update to this post otherwise I am going to be responding to inquiries like the above on a daily basis. Please indicate that it is not legal advice,etc, etc.
Thanks for everything!
Forgot to add that these Does need to know in which states Prenda has a presence: CA, IL,FL, DC and TX. Am I wrong or am I missing some states?
Raul, I’m on and off the keyboard this evening. Can you send me this update and I’ll format/publish it. One note: 2% is probably too high 🙂 2% = 130. This number is conceivable only in the context of Steele’s drunken bragging.
Future is not known (I was always amazed by the cliché “foreseeable future”): we all may look like idiots, but also may be authors of self-fulfilling prophesies: everything is connected — convincing people not to settle can drain Prenda’s resources, and as a result less “individual” cases will be filed. Less cases mean less fear, less fear means less settlers. To understand recursion you have to understand recursion.
I’ll put something together in the morn over coffee, I agree that 130 is the high end but according to Pirate Slayer: 100 Does up in lights and he has just spent $4000 on process servers (50-65 Does served-yet we have not heard from one?). So maybe Prenda will do the naming and serving in 1% increments depending on success (which is doubtful)?
Thanks in large part to Steele’s overreaching, the federal courts are routinely lashing trolls and with the passing of every week it just seems to grow worse for the trolls. Most if not all of this can be laid at Steele’s doorstep for not litigating Prenda’s lawsuits, so he has to redeem Prenda’s trolls by actually taking lawsuits to the joinder of issue stage (get a Doe to put in an answer or motion to dismiss). Once it gets to that stage he will fold because he is the author of this scam and know it is pure BS-IMHO, of course.
Just learned a new concept (sort of) and will keep it in mind while writing the update. Thanks, when you are used to looking at a thing from the procedural or practical aspect, you do miss the psychological or emotional side.
I think you are right on although I do not believe that they have ever moved against individuals in DC or Texas.
The troll lawyer entity Steele/Prenda has certainly filed for porn purveyors in DC and most probably Texas. Steele has filed himself in DC and Attorney Douglas M McIntyre of Houston is likely a Prenda associate.
Not “likely” — it’s a proven fact.
I know that they have filled cases there, but have they filed against individual does there? I don’t think they have.
Other Prenda associates appear to include Joseph Perea of Prenda Law(FLA), Timothy V. Anderson of Anderson & Associates (VA), and Raphael J. Whitford of Steele Hansmeier (IND).
Doecrumb
Thanks for the info, sometimes it is tricky to keep a handle on all the tentacles out there. I have to say that your comments are informative, insightful and helpful which is all you could want in this weird situation we all find ourselves..
True but the copyright troll business model is being rapidly discredited at the federal level because these trolls have not litigated a single lawsuit. Accordingly they have to name and sue a small percentage of Does to save their business model from being entirely discredited. Where is it easier to litigate a case? In state court especially those that have a reputation for cronyism, which is why they are pursuing their legally/evidentiary questionable lawsuits at the state level.
Raul, any idea how connected Prenda is in NJ? I’m not going to hire an attorney unless I’m named in a lawsuit. Simply can’t afford it.
No connection in NJ that I am aware of. There are two NJ trolls but they are both connected to larger trolls who have nothing but disdain for Steele/Prenda, I think. SJD would know for sure.
Another commenter and SJD has corrected my mistatement about NJ. There are 2 trolls there that who do not entirely disdain Prenda but whether they will assist in this silly lawsuit is unlikely.
Check RFC Express for copyright cases. By quick count, there seem to be about 19 copyright trolling cases in NJ since about 3/16/11. 5 cases were for the plaintiff “Baseprotect”, covered in entries on this blog. The local counsel of record is Jay R. McDaniel of McDaniel Law Firm PC.
The remaining 14 were for the porn purveyor plaintiff Patrick Collins aka Frank Collins aka K-Beech, discussed a lot here. The local counsel for Patrick Collins in most of these cases was Samantha H. Evans of Bowles Cohn & Crow LLP. The guess here is that the supervising attorney is based in Miami. Even though there may be disagreements between Steele/Prenda and other groups, they may talk to each other. They have common interests in copyright trolling for porn purveyors.
That’s my vision too. Word to word.
I’m going to chart this out one of these days, like Guilianni did back when he was going after the five families.
I suspect many experienced doe defense attorneys have a good idea about the mastermind(polite word here) network behind porn purveyor trolling. Defense counsel may be reserved due to concern about reprisal from trolls. Trolls have displayed vengeful tactics many times already.
trolls
Hi all. I’m an accused Doe. I’ve been going over the St. Clair case here
and come to a couple of conclusions. Like everyone else, I to am not a lawyer/attorney so this is not legal advice. However, Steve states that A private right of action exists under the Act under 18 U.S.C. § 1030(g). If you read that, the whole thing that is, it refers to financial institutions or US government computers. I believe this to be an abuse of process. Look here for the definition
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Abuse_of_process
The next problem Steve has is that he owns Trade, Hacker, and Intruder Evidence Finder 2.0 I think he is also the Administrator of Arcadia Security Data Consultants. This means that the IP addresses obtained are inadmissible in court by
(735 ILCS 5/Art. VIII Pt. 1 heading)
Part 1. Interested Person as Witness
It basically says he has interest in the action involved. Not good for Stevie.
On a lighter note. . . Lookie here. . .
http://domaincoleta.com/whois/arcadiasecurity.com
Peace all, I’m out!
I’m the NH person who posted above. Many thanks to Raul and everyone for the very helpful and supportive information provided here.
While I’m not all that worried about being taken to court in this state, I am worried about possible harassment if my contact information is provided to the plaintiff by my ISP.
I’m wondering if I should file a MTQ, either on my own or with the help of an attorney. I’ve read that some people have filed a MTQ without any contact information other than their IP address and an email address, in order to protect their identity.
I gather the judge in IL is rejecting all motions to quash in this case — is that correct? But if the ISP gets word that a MTQ has been filed, they won’t release contact information until the judge rules on the matter — which could at least buy some time. Is that also correct?
I can’t figure out how a circuit court in IL can order an ISP based in New Jersey (Comcast) to release the contact information of a customer in New Hampshire. By the way, my letter says that I must file a motion to quash or vacate the subpoena by May 24 or my information will be released to the plaintiff on the next day.
NH Doe, start off with calling a IL attorney by the name of Celestine Dotson at 314-454-6543 who is already representing some Does in this matter. Please let us know what she has to say.
NH Doe, your second to last sentence beautifully summarizes the corruption that lies at the heart of this lawsuit.
I just received the subpoena today from Comcast. I’m in OR on a list of 47 or so. kinda freaked out by it, but reading this forum has put my mind at ease. anyone else out there from OR who received this? more than willing to team up if it comes to blows. planning on talking with a lawyer in the next few days. it says any motions filed will be heard on July 20th
Raul – I have exchanged emails with Celestine Dotson and I hope to speak with her next week.
Good luck, and my heart goes out to you and the 6499 other Does that have been ensnared in this scam. Ultimately it will become something to chuckle about of that I am certain.