There's been another twist in the lengthy legal battle between RIAA lawyers and mother-of-five Patti Santangelo in the case of Elektra vs. Santangelo. Santangelo was sued in 2005 for sharing files; she denied having done so, but the case proceeded, eventually resulting in the suing two of her children for sharing the files and accusing her of contributory copyright infringement. Santangelo's son Robert submitted court papers claiming that, despite the claims of his best friend, he did not use infringe copyright using file sharing software.
RIAA lawyers, apparently having had enough of all this, tried to have the case dismissed without prejudice towards either party. Yesterday, however, Judge Colleen McMahon denied their motion. That means that the case will either go to trial or be dismissed with prejudice. If the latter occurs, Santangelo might be entitled to collect attorney's fees from Elektra, for the same reason they might owe Debbie Foster's attorney's fees.
With all of the legal wrangling that can accompany file sharing lawsuits if the defendant puts up a fight, it's easy to see why the RIAA is so interested in settling these cases out of court before they go to trial.
(on recordingindustryvspeople; via ars technica)
