Why did it take 3.5 years for the world’s largest copyright troll to fold?
#strike3holdingslawsuit #strike3lawsuit #bittorrentlawsuit #ispsubpoena #copyright
It took over three-and-a-half years to conclude the first Strike 3 Holdings, LLC, lawsuit to reach a jury trial. But there would be no jury trial – the parties reached a settlement just the day before.
Along the way, we’ve learned what it takes to defend an innocent victim from improperly-founded accusations of piracy. And we learned better how to protect future Strike 3 Holdings defendants.
If you have received a notice from your Internet Service Provider that your identity is being sought in connection with a copyright lawsuit, please contact me immediately. I have defended over 1,500 people from file-sharing copyright lawsuits. I can help you get the best outcome possible.
I’ll call this Strike 3 Holdings lawsuit “the Tampa case” to distinguish it from the other 10,000+ cases filed by Strike 3, none of which ever reached a jury trial. The vast majority of Strike 3 cases are resolved out-of-court either because the victim has some exposure or because the victim is innocent.
The Tampa case started out with the subscriber receiving a letter from their Internet Service Provider (ISP) that their identity was being sought by Strike 3 Holdings, a lawsuit had already been filed, and a subpoena already granted.
My client’s first attorney was unable to convince Strike 3 to drop the case. I was hired because of my experience with defending many many people from Strike 3 Holdings, specifically. My approach was to assert my client’s innocence in a legally-consequential way, protecting my client in the event that Strike 3 refused to drop the case.
It would prove prescient.
Strike 3 Holdings pursued the case despite my client’s declaration of his innocence. This meant we’d get a chance to see their evidence – and they would get a chance to see ours. This is called the ‘discovery of evidence’ and is required by the Federal Rules of Civil Procedure. The parties must exchange relevant evidence, especially on formal request from the opposing party.
The discovery of evidence also includes requiring the parties to testify. Both Strike 3 Holdings and the Tampa case defendant had to sit for formal depositions under oath.
Discovery is usually where a Strike 3 lawsuit falls apart for one of the parties. If the defendant is in-fact innocent, there will be no evidence of the infringements on their devices. And they will be able to confidently testify to their innocence.
And a liable defendant, someone who may not be innocent, will have the difficulty (more likely the impossibility) of truthfully testifying under oath without implicating themselves. And their devices will likely show some kind of infringing activity.
On the defense side, we were able to discover almost all of the evidence that Strike 3 claims shows infringing activity and links it to a particular person. We were able to use weaknesses in their evidence to prepare a solid defense in preparation for trial.
It worked.
On the Saturday before a Monday trial, opposing counsel reached out to us with an offer that eventually resulted in the settlement of the lawsuit. The parties went to court Monday to enter the settlement on the record and conclude the case.
Why did it take 3.5 years for the world’s largest copyright troll to fold? We had offered to avoid trial since the beginning of litigation. It’s safe to assume it’s “to send a message”. That message is probably “Settle your Strike 3 Holdings case or we’ll do the same to you.”
Fortunately, such ‘messages’ mean little to robust defense attorneys who zealously advocate for their clients.
It was an honor and a pleasure to work with fellow defense counsel Curt Edmondson, who previously fought and won against Strike 3 Holdings on cross Summary Judgment motions the Western District of Washington state. His win was appealed by Strike 3 to the Ninth Circuit Court of Appeals where he won again.
It was also an honor to work with Stephanie Reed-Traband, our local counsel who carried two out-of-state attorneys for 3.5 years while they argued copyright law.
Thank you so much to both of you.
I can be reached at 610-466-5644. That’s my business cell phone. You can call, text, or email (ljfrench@torrentdefense.com) at any time of day. If I can’t answer, I’ll promptly return your call. Please leave a voicemail or text message with your case number and I’ll get back to you with details and the documents in your case.
– Leonard French