Dave Horvath
5 May 2008 14:05
Former RIAA defendant Tanya Andersen has filed an amended complaint in her malicious protection lawsuit against the record labels and RIAA themselves. This marks the fourth complaint submitted by Andersen's lawyer, Lory Lybeck. All prior submissions have been rejected by the judge. If Lybeck can get the judge to accept this one, it will begin what Andersen hopes to be a long-range investigation into the tactics the RIAA uses to thwart their P2P nemesis.
The first of three dismissed complaints accused the RIAA of racketeering, fraud, invasion of privacy, deceptive business practices, and a number of other wrong doings. The judge presiding over the case, Judge Anna J. Brown, dismissed it sighting they had not properly stated claims for relief, but allowed for the complaint to be resubmitted.
The second of the three dismissed complaints weighed in at 108 pages and outlined scandalous practices and criminal enterprise practices, but the judge threw it out because both the court and the RIAA believed they ignored the judge's instructions to submit a short and concise complaint.
The third dismissed complaint was intended to be a class-action lawsuit filed on behalf of other who have been mistakenly identified by the RIAA as criminals. The RIAA stands accused of conspiracy and abuse of the legal process, negligence, acting criminally in investigating and pursuing claims against class members, wire fraud, mail fraud, and wrongfully filing lawsuits.
The latest complaint is a paltry 39 pages and is believed to be Lybeck's final attempt at a complaint with this judge. Lybeck has accused the RIAA of "operating a zone of secrecy" throughout its legal campaign, and hopes that last week's filing will mark the beginning of the end for the labels and their legal campaign.