Judge awards defendant $70k in illegal download case
A federal judge ordered Capitol Records to pay nearly $70,000 to cover the attorney fees and litigation costs of a woman the company unsuccessfully sued for illegal downloading.
Ruling, issued by a U.S. District Court in Oklahoma, marks the first reimbursement of expenses to a defendant in the music industry’s lawsuits against alleged online pirates.
Case dates back to 2004, when Capitol sued Oklahoma resident Deborah Foster for alleged copyright violation via unauthorized downloading. A year later, Capitol amended the complaint to include Foster’s adult daughter, Amanda, as co-defendant.
Capitol eventually won a default judgment against Amanda Foster but continued to pursue her mother until offering to settle out of court. Failing to reach a settlement, Capitol dropped its case against Deborah Foster.
Foster then petitioned for recovery of expenses, submitting an itemized claim of more than $114,000. After reviewing the claim, the court ruled on Monday that Foster is entitled to $68,685.23.
Capitol had argued that Foster wasn’t entitled to an award since it was her decision to keep fighting the charges rather than accept a settlement. Judge Lee R. West sharply disagreed, stating, “Throughout the course of this litigation, the plaintiffs have alleged that had the defendant appropriately assisted their copyright infringement investigation and litigation, she could have avoided being sued. The court has rejected this argument on numerous occasions and declines to entertain it yet again. The defendant was entitled to litigate the claims the plaintiffs chose to bring against her and … she is entitled to recover reasonable attorneys’ fees.”
variety
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