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RIAA throws in towel in Tanya Andersen case

4 June 2007 19:56 by James "Dela" Delahunty | 17 comments

In a decision which is devastating to the Recording Industry Association of America's (RIAA) campaign against file sharing, both parties in Atlantic v. Andersen case have agreed to dismiss the case with prejudice. This means that Tanya Andersen, a disabled single-mother of a nine year old daughter, is the prevailing party and the door is now open to recovering attorneys fees.

The Oregon woman was accused of sharing gangsta rap music using the KaZaa P2P client. She completely denied involvement in distributing tracks like "Hoes in My Room" using the P2P network and filed a countersuit accusing the record industry of racketeering, fraud, and deceptive business practices in October 2005. The RIAA alleged that she shared the songs with the handle "gotenkito."

Last month, Andersen filed a motion for summary judgment, saying that the plaintiffs have "failed to provide competent evidence sufficient to satisfy summary judgment standards" to show that she was guilty of copyright infringement. A forensic expert hired by the RIAA also completely failed to find any evidence whatsoever on her hard drive to support the RIAA's allegations.

The RIAA had no choice but to dismiss the case "with prejudice". This effectively exonerates Andersen of the crime. In the past, the RIAA has moved to dismiss cases "without prejudice" which ends the lawsuit without a winner. The RIAA could now be forced to cough up an attorneys' fee award.

Andersen's counterclaim is still "standing on its own," according to Tanya, which means she still has the opportunity to argue her counterclaims before the court while the RIAA cannot pursue its copyright infringement claims any further.

Source:
Ars Technica

Permalink to this article

P2P defendant Tanya Anderson awarded lawyer fees (15 May 2008)

RIAA beaten in court by Tanya Andersen yet again (17 January 2008)

Oregon Attorney General comes out swinging in RIAA case (1 December 2007)

RIAA trying to dodge legal fees after dropping case (18 October 2007)

Defendent argues "making files available" isn't infringement (20 August 2007)

Free radio may become a thing of the past (5 July 2007)

Lawsuit victim sues RIAA under RICO Act (2 October 2005)

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Discuss this article!
malcdogg (Senior Member) 4 June 2007 23:06
Good. [ + quote]
b18bek9 (Member) 4 June 2007 23:09
glad to see the RIAA losing more money and happy to see she wasnt guilty.... [ + quote]
borhan9 (AfterDawn Addict) 5 June 2007 0:03
I am happy that this did not go well for the RIAA. Well done to the young single mum. [ + quote]
duckNrun (Member) 5 June 2007 0:06
This case may be the one that starts to make the RIAA look like the little dutch boy placing his fingers in the dike as it begins to spring leaks. [ + quote] This message has been edited since posting. Last time this message was edited on 5 June 2007 7:41
garmoon (AfterDawn Addict) 5 June 2007 4:03
Celebrate, Celebrate, Dance to the music! [ + quote]
spydah (Junior Member) 5 June 2007 4:19
I am glad this lady won and has stood her ground. Always a good thing when a regular person gets to slap them mofo's in the head. [ + quote]
elroy2055 (Newbie) 5 June 2007 5:52
WHOOT WHOOT..... [ + quote]
windsong (Junior Member) 5 June 2007 10:39
To RIAA: What did the five fingers say to the face?? [ + quote]
DVDdoug (Junior Member) 5 June 2007 10:40
If Anderson (and Cid) can win and collect some money from the RIAA... enought money to make their lawyers happy, lawyers will be lining-up to sue the RIAA! [ + quote]
AlmostOz (Junior Member) 5 June 2007 14:51
awesome! [ + quote]
AXT (Member) 5 June 2007 15:05
wow. you have to be a real asshole to sue a disabled single mother with a nine year old child. now you know the people responsible for selling you your music. next time you think of buying a cd think of what kind of people are getting your money and don't buy their product. [ + quote]
aone (Newbie) 5 June 2007 21:41
wow, that was two friggin years of her life. and you should read some of the comments from the previous article haha. who's laughin now? go tanya anderson! [ + quote]
RNR1995 (Inactive) 8 June 2007 9:43
What kind of scumbag sues a disabled single mother anyway? DIE RIAA DIE! I cannot tell you the last time I bought music NOT because I download it, I do not But because it sucks I listen to talk radio anymore because how many times can you listen to the same crap [ + quote]
wetsparks (Member) 8 June 2007 12:21
This is a great precedent that has been set. Just need people willing to follow up. [ + quote]
editmon (Newbie) 11 June 2007 7:34
Interesting, the Recording Industry A$$holes of America versus lawyers? Who will win? Thoughts? [ + quote] This message has been edited since posting. Last time this message was edited on 13 June 2007 14:22
cleverick (Newbie) 13 June 2007 14:02
OH SNAP!!! [ + quote]
Unfocused (Junior Member) 23 July 2007 21:35
Yeah! About time. [ + quote]