Federal Judge Dismisses Movie Piracy Complaint 225
cluedweasel writes "A Federal judge in Medford, OR has dismissed a piracy case lodged against 34 Oregonians. Judge Ann Aiken ruled that Voltage Pictures LLC unfairly lumped the defendants into what she called a 'reverse class action suit' to save on legal expenses and possibly to intimidate them into paying thousands of dollars for viewing a movie that could be bought or rented for less than $10."
The judge was not enthused that they offered to settle for $7500 while noting that potential penalties could be as much as $150,000.
Re:"Excessive fines" -- as government does it... (Score:2, Interesting)
Then you drive through Maryland on highway 70. Receive this threatening letter for violating a toll plaza. Except none exists, it's an automated license plate capture camera that autogenerates a bill.
But they still use the same letter as if you'd run the toll booth.
*priceless*
Government is FAIL on almost every level.
Re:About time (Score:5, Interesting)
The problem with the troll claims is that you've got a state of affairs that boils down to "Tort reform for the rich, and Crime and Punishment for the Poor".
Most tort case don't have the benefit of extreme and unjust statutory damages. In most tort cases, you actually have to prove harm. Media moguls don't have to do that. They can dodge the issue entirely. Beyond that, you have a well cultivated hatred of lawyers coupled with tort reform movement that's been pretty effective in gutting civil remedies in non-copyright cases.
In your average tort case, you don't have the benefit of a credible threat of multi-million dollar damages for trivial infractions.