Attorneys who defend troll victims
- Robert Powers (Vienna VA)
Relevant posts
- Week of 7/6/2014: news and updates from the Bittorent litigation front (7/13/2014)
- Copyright trolls are back in Virginia. Jon Hoppe has a reading comprehension problem (6/24/2014)
- Another victory in Virginia (10/21/2011)
- Trolls in panic: Steele Hansmeier files an amicus brief trying to prevent the inevitable downfall of the US trolls (10/18/2011)
- Judge’s opinion: Mass p2p lawsuits are frivolous (10/6/2011)
- DieTrollDie
Fight © Trolls 
To get each of these new posts going and in an effort to encourage the spirit of those that are new to this vile practice of copyright trolling I am going to post a link to a state specific case where the troll case got slammed which could be used in your Motion to Quash/Sever/Issue a Protective Order.
This one is one of the best nationwide, a classic: https://www.eff.org/files/K-Beech.pdf
2:11-cv-00690-MSD-FBS
First Time Videos v. John Doe
filed by Timothy V. Anderson in the Eastern District
Could someone check PACER for updates in this case? Also wondering if this is an individual suit or another John Doe + co-conspirators case.
This is a John Doe + co-conspirators case and the docket is here for your viewing pleasure http://ia700802.us.archive.org/30/items/gov.uscourts.vaed.275182/gov.uscourts.vaed.275182.docket.html I just updated the docket.
Thanks, Raul!
This case may have been reported on elsewhere but in an effort to get interesting state cases into their particular state discussion I am reporting on a loser troll by the name of David Wayne O’Bryan. Last Fall this troll got his ass handed to him by Judge Gibney and himself and his client narrowly escaped Rule 11 sanctions. In fact this judicial ass whupping was so severe and the potential consequences so dire for the trolls that John Steele filed an amicus curiae brief on behalf of the loser troll. Regrettably the Judge declined to impose sanctions but it was a very close call for the trolling community and it had all been initiated by loser troll.
After retreating to under his bridge to lick his wounds for awhile the loser troll is back with 9 new lawsuits (8 Malibu Media + 1 Patrick Collins) which all get promptly assigned to Magistrate Jones who declines to rule on loser troll’s motion for the issuance of third party subpoenas because:
“Upon initial examination, it appears that this action may be within the scope of Judge Gibney’s October 13, 2011 amended memorandum order in K-Beech,Inc. v. Does 1-85, Civil Action No. 3:11-cv-469 (E.D. Va.).” (That, of course is the decision I discussed in the first paragraph about the ass whupping loser troll received). Accordingly Magistrate Jones orders a hearing for March 9, 2012 to “conduct a combined hearing on the motion and the issue of joinder/severance.”
The hearing was held and now we are just waiting on a decision. Who do you think is going to lose this one?
I wanted to note that our little Wayne had balls to get back to trolling after such a close shave. With one nuance: it’s the same as to say a junkie had balls to get back to syringe after the release from a rehab. Easy money is a powerful drug.
Don’t even get me going on this …… .
DTD posted today that Loser Troll lost-again! Hopefully DTD or someone else who is not using (constrained by ) an IPad can post the link from dietrolldie.com.
http://dietrolldie.com/2012/04/03/va-judge-recommends-severing-all-but-doe-1-in-nine-cases/
One comment at DTD says discovery was blocked for all severed Does.
Here it is. Sorry it took so long. Didn’t see your post. http://dietrolldie.com/2012/04/03/va-judge-recommends-severing-all-but-doe-1-in-nine-cases/
DTD 🙂
Troll O’Bryan has said that he is prepared to file individual suits against Does. I wouldn’t bet the kid’s college money on that bit of BS. Do you know why? Only because he made the same threat last Fall and never delivered. But maybe because individual suits have a propensity to blow up in the troll’s face this idiot troll will give it a go?
I agree Raul. With over 100 defendants, it would cost O’Bryan ~$35k to file against each.
Not happening.
It appears that as of yesterday a defendant has been named in this case.. What does that mean for the others? Anyone have any insight? I’ve recently received my first call from Lutz regarding this case, but wonder if this changes anything..
If we are talking about the same matter it would mean that the troll has named Doe 1 to try and save face (too late). However I thought most if not all of these lawsuits emanated from Lipscomb, not Prenda?
I believe he’s referring to docket 2:11-cv-00690 linked on March 22nd. The defendant named has now been issued a summons. Does anyone know if this is in fact Doe #1 or could they be trying a new scare tactic?
I’m not sure who originated the lawsuit but my love letter came from Prenda law regarding this case.
I got my love letter from Prenda and my calls from Lutz in this case too.. I never downloaded the video in question, but here are a couple of questions.. Allegations are that a copyrighted material was downloaded and uploaded.. Although I’ve used BitTorrent, I’ve never shared so therefore I could never have uploaded.. Also, since there are some files out there that aren’t copyrighted how are you supposed to know which ones are/aren’t unless they copyright info is viewed after downloading??
Hi! I am new to all of this and just received a letter from my service provider saying that they received a subpoena from Prenda Law for my information re: case#cv-00690. What should I do?? So much conflicting information out there and I have NO clue what they are talking about.
Would like to help. Is the case no. 12- cv-00690? If so I could not locate it on PACER. Which District of Virginia? Who is the troll?
It is Case # 2:11-cv-00690 PACER #275182- I am not sure if I should obtain legal counsel or just ride this out. First I need to contact my IP provider because the IP address they have listed as mine is not mine and I did not download or view the file in question. Any help you could give me would be great!
Plaintiff’s name? Western or Eastern District?
http://ia700802.us.archive.org/30/items/gov.uscourts.vaed.275182/gov.uscourts.vaed.275182.docket.html
If it were me, I would ride it out unless you get served with a summons and complaint (99% sure you will not get served if Prenda’s past history is a predictor of the future). If you do not wish to receive harassing phone calls, hire an attorney to take the phone calls and mailings on your behalf
Wow. This is another MASS porn trolling case. By quick count, there are about 620 Does.
This “amended” case has improper jurisdiction and improper joinder.
The dates of allegations run from 8/15/11 to 12/22/11. Over 4 months.
I hope that Magistrate Judge F. Bradford Stillman takes a cue from the well written report of Magistrate Judge Gary R. Brown who recommends:
That plaintiffs and their counsel…be directed that any future actions of a similar nature in this district be filed as separate actions as against each John Doe defendant, so as to avoid unfair outcomes, improper joinder and waste of judicial resources, and to ensure the proper payment of filing fees.
There are several sneaky things about this case, by the troll lawyers for porn purveyors-Timothy V. Anderson/Prenda/Steele-Hansmeier.
The initial case is for one Doe, whose IP allegedly is in Virginia. The trolls claim proper jurisdiction and there is no joinder issue. Trolls then “amend” the complaint to add 639 Does all over the U.S. and the world.
Anderson/Prenda want to at least claim that the case did not sink if one Doe is not dismissed, as listed on the original complaint.
And, BTW dozens of Does have dates of allegations of “conspiracy” with participation BEFORE the date of Doe #1’s date of alleged “activity”. This further twists the non-logic of the joinder claim.
Another sneaky thing: The original complaint was submitted just before New Year’s eve. The amended (MASS) complaint was submitted shortly after New Year’s weekend. Trolls were hoping to slip this by both the Court and observers who follow the troll activity of legal abuse.
As usual, troll deception from start to finish. They continue trying to get away with tactics dismissed by many other courts.
Also, by filing for one Doe instead of 640, attorneys Timothy V. Anderson/Prenda, for their porn purveyor clients, are depriving the Virginia Eastern District civil court of about $223,650 in filing fees for this case alone!
Anderson is a crook. He once was ordered by the judge to disclose how he relates to Steele, he did not (which is an equivalent of the middle finger shown to the judge). Also he is a liar.
Thank you all so much for your help and insight!!! What a learning experience for me. Most of what I read said that I SHOULD squash the subpoena, which itself is VERY expensive and most likely will not work. Other info said just call and settle. I did not do this and I am beyond upset and cannot afford extensive legal fees. I did notice that they have changed the summons from John Doe to a person, Meyer. Is this a good sign??
It means they will likely serve this fellow to scare the rest of the Does into settling. Just sit tight and if you want to be proactive write and file your own motion to quash/sever/issue a protective order. DTD has a nice collection of these motion for your perusal http://dietrolldie.com/how-to-file-a-motion-or-declaration-with-a-federal-court/#comment-2294 and http://dietrolldie.com/motions/ plus tons of other helpful info.
Took a look at http://ia700802.us.archive.org/30/items/gov.uscourts.vaed.275182/gov.uscourts.vaed.275182.docket.html for case 2:11-cv-00690, First Time Videos, LLC v. Meyer. They were finally able to serve Mr. Meyers on 5 May 12. http://www.archive.org/download/gov.uscourts.vaed.275182/gov.uscourts.vaed.275182.28.0.pdf 26 May 12, is 21 days from the service.
Meyer was doing a fantastic job of evading service. Process server must have been patiently hiding in the bushes.
something smells fishy…look at the prior attempts. Its lists – 5/8 8:30P-, LEFT NOTICE OF
ATTEMPTED DELIVERY, NO ANSWER
Why did he go back if the date and time of service was 5/5 @ 8:40pm?
Does this mean the Does subpenaed with this case number don’t have to file MTQ since someone has been named and served?
Nope, its just the Doe in John Doe vs Co-conspirators. If your IP address is one of the alleged co-conspirators, you should prob still be evaluating your options as has been outlined on this site in various posts.
Back in April DTD wrote a post reporting that Magistrate Judge Rawles had issued a Report and Recommendation on 4-3 that recommended severing all Does but Doe 1 from 9 of Troll O’Bryan’s lawsuits http://dietrolldie.com/2012/04/03/va-judge-recommends-severing-all-but-doe-1-in-nine-cases/#comment-2826 It is worthwhile reading as the judge provides an excellent analysis of BitTorrent and Joinder which, by and large, is where these lawsuits survive or die depending on where the judge comes down on the interplay between these two issues. As expected the troll kicked up a fuss and put in an opposition to the Magistrate Judge’s R&R but on 5-30 the first of the 9 was severed http://www.rfcexpress.com/lawsuits/copyright-lawsuits/virginia-eastern-district-court/90079/malibu-media-llc-v-john-does/summary/ Let the countdown begin, Loser Troll!
Loser Troll has dismissed the 9 remaining Does.
Looks like Meyer settled. Too bad.
And it looks like Troll Anderson slinks off into the night with Co-Doe info before the judge can rule on the motions to dismiss or sever. http://ia700802.us.archive.org/30/items/gov.uscourts.vaed.275182/gov.uscourts.vaed.275182.docket.html
Raul, sorry to hijacking this thread. I’m a doe in the Illinois Lightspeed case, 11-L-0683. The St. Clair recorder site frequently is in disarray (currently down). When it is working, there is not much detail on motions filed. Is there a link somewhere to the docket detail for the 0683 case like the one you posted above?
Regrettably there is not.
A little birdie told me the judge didn’t seem to interested in allowing motions to Quash/Sever. He denied a couple back in March-April. Even when he was slapped in the face with the ND CA FTV v. Doe and Conspirators ruling from some months ago.
Can you elaborate? Sorry, pressed for time to do my own investigations.
Just saying there is no detailed docket for 0683 other than the cryptic one maintained in St. Clair.
I meant “Meier settled”: what is it about?
I think it should be Meyer the Doe in the FTV case. Not Meier heir Weretroll.
Oh sorry, I thought it was a typo and took a liberty to fix it. Arrogance always backfires 🙂
so all Does in this case are dismissed?(Case closed.)
How long after a case is over will prenda call and still request settlement.
gotten three robocalls and 1 live person a day for a week from Illinois,florida,and1800 number.??
Troll Timothy V. Anderson has filed two named cases in the Virginia Eastern District Court on July 26, one for First Time Videos and one for Openmind Solutions.
Could someone post a link to the complaints for the three suits Troll Anderson filed on July 26th?
I’m a doe listed in 2:11-cv-00690-MSD-FBS however I’m currently overseas in service and don’t have the resources to look any of this up at this time
is there any way someone with access can check pacer and see what’s going on? I know I’m protected via the civ service relief act for now, and didn’t start receiving any settlement offers until literally right before my leaving, they were forwarded here. I’m feeling pretty helpless and a little worried. The Prenda website looks shady as hell…
SJD please redact italiano’s ref #
I just realized what I did, please redact the reference #
The lawsuit has been dismissed “without prejudice” against the alleged “joint tortfeasers” on 6-20-12.
Docket is here http://ia600802.us.archive.org/30/items/gov.uscourts.vaed.275182/gov.uscourts.vaed.275182.docket.html
thank you so much! this is a huge relief to hear, now to continue waiting to see what happens next I guess, talk about something you don’t wanna deal with on deployment. any chance it’ll come back later on?
Minuscule chance especially if you resided in a state where Prenda does not have an attorney.
I am almost in the same boat as Italiano. I’m currently in the service and am about to head overseas for a few years. Although, I did just recieve a letter from Timothy Anderson, whom I assume has taken over for Prenda up in VA informing me that “I will be sued” if I don’t agree to the settlement terms. Can I be given a default settlement by a judge if I’m not even in the country to recieve anything? I’m not quite sure how this works.
Timmay! filed two Doe or Debtor suits in ED and WD yesterday. I’m curious about one thing… If the identity is unknown to the plaintiff, why are their initials in the ip addresses for the filing. Furthermore, you are calling them debtors not defendants. Did you enter into a contract with them that you aren’t telling the court about? Just a thought.
New AF Holdings Cases in VA. 2:12-cv-00555 is an (original) refiling of 2:11-cv-00383. Judge issued a show cause order on 383, Anderson dismissed 14 days later. He’s asking for discovery again, and even submitted the ip list (with an obscured last octet) with “Debtor Initials”. AYFKM?!
IP lists, new cover sheet, dockets, and dismissal are all recapped.
Thanks, I forwarded this information to lawyers that may be interested.
ok, so the case I was involved in was listed as dismissed without prejudice, thanks to the anon who listed it up for me. however I just received (and still overseas mind you) a “letter of request for informal discovery” and while there’s no date on the letter itself, it was postmarked in the US on 30 Jul. Was it refiled possibly under a different number? Or is the mail just slower than hell and they haven’t gotten it all out yet? I’m getting tired of Predna’s shit coming in the mail while I’m over here ._. is there any way I can track if it even gets refiled? sorry for all the questions guys, just don’t wanna get hit with a nasty surprise when I get back on US soil
I think it’s just mail being slow. We described and ridiculed this “request for informal discovery,” and it is pretty much moot now.
Wow…there are a crap ton, i count at least 15, single suits by prenda in VA now…
I have received a lawsuit from them on 11/07/12 Openmind v. John Doe (my IP address) Tim Anderson filed it in Western District VA court. I have been stressed out for a year now since Prenda first sent their extortion letters, thankfully I had no cell phone # for them to harass me at. So now I have this case pending and a deputy clerk signed it. What should I do?
SJD, do you have any idea why Anderson would have petitioned to combine all those individual cases?
And why would it means that it would be denied? I thought that grouping them together is bad for prenda anyway. Coordinated defense and it would seem they get less settlement per person they name.
Just interested in your thoughts on the matter.
By combining, do they get the green light to do depositions without officially naming or serving anyone??
As it was explained to me, Anderson tried to resolve venue issues (I did not understand this part as well, and had not chance to ask more questions). This is moot anyway, as the motion was denied the next day.
As for the Rule 30 depositions, it is a serious issue, and Prenda will most likely try to leverage it in their scare tactics. It seems that Anderson is prepared to issue some deposition subpoenas. An those subpoenas cannot be simply ignored, as a failure to appear will result in fines. On the other hand, appearing without a lawyer is also not a good idea, Anderson is not Duffy, he is a clever and dangerous crook. So, yes, bad news. Will try to alert EFF.
If you receive such a subpoena, contact a lawyer, that’s the only advice I have. I can vouch for Mr. Powers, but as far as I know, he does not provide free consultations, although his knowledge and expertise is superb. I’m more than sure that there are many talented and honest attorneys in VA, I just don’t know them. If you happen to know some, please share this information.
Just made a post concerning Troll Anderson, Rule 30 Depositions, and the 5th Amendment to the US Constitution. 🙂
http://dietrolldie.com/2012/11/29/your-5th-amendment-rights-at-a-copyright-troll-deposition/
DTD 🙂
I noticed today that one of Anderson’s Quad cases has resulted in a motion by one Doe being granted. Said motion orders Anderson to file a copy of all communication with the defendant to the court within five days.
Case 1:12cv1261 in VAED, order was issued on 1/11. Glad to see a judge out there taking some of the claims about their practices seriously.
This Jane Doe made a VERY good pro se motion http://ia601208.us.archive.org/14/items/gov.uscourts.vaed.288317/gov.uscourts.vaed.288317.9.0.pdf and here is the resultant Order http://ia601208.us.archive.org/14/items/gov.uscourts.vaed.288317/gov.uscourts.vaed.288317.12.0.pdf
Docket is here http://ia701208.us.archive.org/14/items/gov.uscourts.vaed.288317/gov.uscourts.vaed.288317.docket.html