So for anyone following this Law Suit dealy thing I'm going through, here's a very small update.
First, I want to say thank you to everyone who replied with any information from my last post! I passes along some of your ideas to this Lawyer guy my dad knows. Here's the email he sent back.
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I had a conversation today with an attorney who is more skilled in this area of law than anyone here in the firm. There are two courses of action possible and Ill leave the choice up to you.
Here is the worst case scenario:
Your ISP sends your information to Prenda Law. The plaintiff (Lightspeed) will then research you and decide if it wants to bring suit based on a number of factors (assuming they do the research once they have your name). Among those factors, your income, your age, the extent of the hacking associated with your IP address, and any damage caused by it. If they do decide to bring suit, they will have to get personal jurisdiction over you. Whether or not they can do this depends on the law of the jurisdiction where the suit was brought. Lets say they can. Then they will need to prove damages. If its a copyright infringement (stolen images or video, music, etc) that might not be too hard. If it is just hacking, might be tougher. Lets assume they do prove damages and get a judgment against you. Then they need to hire a PA attorney to try to collect on that judgment. If you are judgment proof (ie dont have the money or assets to pay the judgment) they are shit out of luck.
Our two options are:
Option One: To do nothing at this time and see if they actually bring suit against you once PenTeleData gives them your info. If they do bring suit, then youll have to pay a fellow like the one I spoke with to defend you or settle for whatever amount Lightspeed will go along with.
Option Two: We can fire off a letter or phone call saying you are judgment proof, that you use a wireless router, and would be willing to sign an injunction (but not a consent injunction) (ie, a promise without an admission of guilt that you will never access that website again). We can do this now, or, if they bring suit, your attorney would do it as a first step. The drawbacks to doing it now are that it might be ignored by Lightspeed or it might draw unnecessary attention to you. The pros are it might nip it in the bud if they are willing to go along w an injunction. The chances that they will do that seem small, though, given their past pattern of behavior.
My impression is that similar actions in the past were used to extort money out of people who decide to settle rather than fight it. Many of those actions, as you saw were dismissed by the court or voluntarily. However some, particularly those involving copyrightincluding a case about stealing of the film the Hurt Lockerdid go forward. Do you know what they are accusing you of doingwas it a copyright infringement?
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So, that's the entire email he sent... I'm a little confused and not sure what to do. I understand no one can make my decisions, but if anyone has any input, and you've all been helpful thus far, It will help me so much!
Thanks again to everyone here, And I love you all!
Again: ONLY SERIOUS ANSWERS AND CONCERNS PLEASE
~Vixey <3
First, I want to say thank you to everyone who replied with any information from my last post! I passes along some of your ideas to this Lawyer guy my dad knows. Here's the email he sent back.
---
I had a conversation today with an attorney who is more skilled in this area of law than anyone here in the firm. There are two courses of action possible and Ill leave the choice up to you.
Here is the worst case scenario:
Your ISP sends your information to Prenda Law. The plaintiff (Lightspeed) will then research you and decide if it wants to bring suit based on a number of factors (assuming they do the research once they have your name). Among those factors, your income, your age, the extent of the hacking associated with your IP address, and any damage caused by it. If they do decide to bring suit, they will have to get personal jurisdiction over you. Whether or not they can do this depends on the law of the jurisdiction where the suit was brought. Lets say they can. Then they will need to prove damages. If its a copyright infringement (stolen images or video, music, etc) that might not be too hard. If it is just hacking, might be tougher. Lets assume they do prove damages and get a judgment against you. Then they need to hire a PA attorney to try to collect on that judgment. If you are judgment proof (ie dont have the money or assets to pay the judgment) they are shit out of luck.
Our two options are:
Option One: To do nothing at this time and see if they actually bring suit against you once PenTeleData gives them your info. If they do bring suit, then youll have to pay a fellow like the one I spoke with to defend you or settle for whatever amount Lightspeed will go along with.
Option Two: We can fire off a letter or phone call saying you are judgment proof, that you use a wireless router, and would be willing to sign an injunction (but not a consent injunction) (ie, a promise without an admission of guilt that you will never access that website again). We can do this now, or, if they bring suit, your attorney would do it as a first step. The drawbacks to doing it now are that it might be ignored by Lightspeed or it might draw unnecessary attention to you. The pros are it might nip it in the bud if they are willing to go along w an injunction. The chances that they will do that seem small, though, given their past pattern of behavior.
My impression is that similar actions in the past were used to extort money out of people who decide to settle rather than fight it. Many of those actions, as you saw were dismissed by the court or voluntarily. However some, particularly those involving copyrightincluding a case about stealing of the film the Hurt Lockerdid go forward. Do you know what they are accusing you of doingwas it a copyright infringement?
----
So, that's the entire email he sent... I'm a little confused and not sure what to do. I understand no one can make my decisions, but if anyone has any input, and you've all been helpful thus far, It will help me so much!
Thanks again to everyone here, And I love you all!
Again: ONLY SERIOUS ANSWERS AND CONCERNS PLEASE
~Vixey <3
knives2meatyou:
I say follow the suggestions in numerical order: do nothing for now and if these guys persist (which I suspect they won't) go to option 2, the letter from your lawyer. I still think it's a scam. Stick to your guns!