Judge Questions Mass Joinder of Alleged Illegal 'John Doe' Downloaders
An enterprising law firm’s mass pursuit of illegal downloaders may be hitting a roadblock in the form of a Washington, D.C., federal judge.
In two different lawsuits, U.S. District Judge Rosemary Collyer has issued an order to show cause why the plaintiffs should be allowed to group together thousands of “John Doe” defendants accused of illegal downloading, the Ars Technica blog Law & Disorder reports.
The suits were filed by the U.S. Copyright Group, a company owned by the Virginia-based law firm Dunlap, Grubb & Weaver. The firm offers to represent independent filmmakers for free in suits against illegal downloaders. Then it subpoenas Internet service providers to identify Internet users who illegally downloaded movies made by its filmmaker clients. Those who are identified are threatened with a $150,000 lawsuit unless they agree to a settlement of $1,500 to $2,500.
One of the suits before Collyer has 2,000 anonymous defendants and the other has 4,577 defendants. An amicus brief filed by the American Civil Liberties Union and the Electronic Frontier Foundation argues federal procedural rules bar the joinder.
Prior coverage:
ABAJournal.com: “Law Firm Poised to Bank Millions on Peer-to-Peer Prosecution”
