The Recording Industry Association of America filed lawsuits on
Tuesday to force five ISPs to reveal the details of 531
file-swappers. But one individual is hitting back with her own
lawsuit, accusing record labels of extortion and racketeering,
according to reports.
The latest wave of actions from the RIAA come less than a month
after similar "John Doe" lawsuits relating to 532 individuals,
bringing the total number of lawsuit targets to more than 1,500.
None of the cases to date have resulted in a judgment against a
file-swapper.
Now, New Jersey resident Michele Scimeca is countersuing,
arguing extortion and violations of the federal Racketeer
Influenced and Corrupt Organizations Act.
Scimeca says she was sued over her child's use of file-sharing
service Kazaa "for a school project." She is now suing a number of
major record labels, arguing that their demand for reimbursement of
$150,000 per infringement falls foul of the Racketeer Influenced
and Corrupt Organizations Statute, known as RICO. It's the same law
that put mob Godfather John Gotti behind bars in 1992.
"They're banding together to extort money, telling people
they're guilty and they will have to pay big bucks to defend their
cases if they don't pony up now. It is fundamentally not fair,"
Scimeca's lawyer, Bart Lombardo, told New Jersey's
Star Ledger.
