Rightscorp
Morgan Pietz files a class action lawsuit against Rightscorp
11/21/14 — Morgan Pietz of The Pietz Law Firm, together with Drew Pomerance of Roxborough, Pomerance, Nye & Adreani, have filed a Class Action Complaint (with Exhibits) against Rightscorp, Inc., and its management, on behalf of two people who have received alleged unlawful telephone calls, emails, and letters from Rightscorp’s “DMCA Agents.”
The complaint seeks class damages against Rightscorp for violations of the Telephone Consumer Protection Act, the Fair Debt Collection Practices Act, California’s Rosenthal Act, and Abuse of Process. The complaint alleges unlawful robo-calls, as well as other unfair debt collection practices, and that Rightscorp has abused the legal process by issuing DMCA Section 512(h) subpoenas that it knew were objectively baseless […]
Rightscorp Class Action — Robo-Calls and DMCA Subpoenas
Answering my question about a potential of more plaintiffs joining the action, Mr. Pietz said: “We would still be very interested to talking to anyone who was being contacted by Rightscorp or who paid settlements, particularly anyone who was getting the pre-recorded robo-calls¹.”
(Karen J Reif et al v. Rightscorp, Inc., et al, CACD 14-cv-09032)
Previous Rightscorp posts
- Rightscorp: extortion and fraud are siblings
- Why are Rightscorp’s principals shy to mention their past endeavors?
Followup
Update
9/19/2015
On 8/31/2015 this case was settled. Since this is a class settlement, it’s not over yet and we will see the proposed detail and numbers from the plaintiff within 90 days.
The 9/2/2015 text-only order reads:
ORDER DISMISSING CASE DUE TO SETTLEMENT by Judge Dale S. Fischer. The Court has been advised by counsel that this action has been settled. Accordingly, it is ordered that the action is dismissed without prejudice. The Court retains jurisdiction for 45 days to vacate this Order and to reopen the action on a showing of good cause that the settlement has not been completed and further proceedings are necessary THERE IS NO PDF DOCUMENT ASSOCIATED WITH THIS ENTRY. (dp) TEXT ONLY ENTRY (Entered: 09/02/2015)
1/12/2016
TorrentFreak reports:
Piracy monetization firm Rightscorp and several copyright holders, including Hollywood studio Warner Bros, have agreed to settle a class-action lawsuit over intimidating robo-calls. The defendants will set aside $450,000 to cover the costs and more than 2,000 accused pirates are eligible for a $100 settlement each.
11/14/2017
The 2017-III SEC report revels the amount of the settlement – $200,000, paid by BMG:
At December 31, 2016, the Company had accrued $200,000 related to the settlement of class action complaint. On January 7, 2017, BMG Rights Management (US) LLC (“BMG”) advanced the Company $200,000, which was used to pay off the settlement. The advance from BMG is to be applied to future billings from the Company to BMG for consulting services.
Coverage
- Arstechnica: Class-action suit says Rightscorp makes illegal, harassing phone calls
- TorrentFreak: Piracy monetization firm Rightscorp sued for harassment and abuse
- TechDirt: Class Action Filed Against Rightscorp For Shaking Down People With Robocalls
¹ Speaking about robocalls, nothing is new under the sun. Especially in the copyright trolls’ world.
Fight © Trolls 
Boy, I wonder if that is going to do anything for stockholder confidence?
DTD 🙂
If they win this case against rightscorp, I wonder how many more people will file against them with this firm?
@DTD and kiss that appeal for another cash infusion-Goodbye.
This would be detrimental to Rightscorp’s extortion -er- I mean business model. There is no way in hell Rightscorp will want to explain to a Judge how they are abusing the DCMA act with their pay up letters.
As much as Rightscorp loves to say the Judge got it wrong on the DCMA notice use, there is no way they would challenge that ruling in a court of law, because they wouldn’t win. LOL… I suspect they will duck and run or file for creditor protection if this lawsuits get class status and more of their victims sign up
They can’t duck and run. Being a defendant in a lawsuit all they can do is try to get it dismissed, and the bar for that is very low or try to settle.
sooo much popcorn….
@Anon E. Mous
“I suspect they will duck and run or file for creditor protection if this lawsuits get class status and more of their victims sign up”
If you actually read the complaint you’ll find that due to the nature of the laws broken, Rightscorps clients, managers, and lawyers are personally on the hook if the judge agrees on all counts. There would be no safety even once rightscorp is toast.
Enjoyed reading.
Where are you, Maurice Ross?
Someone should look at CEG-TEK as well
Keep up the good work.
Thank you.