Even State Courts Getting Skeptical About Prenda

from the quash-them dept

We've talked a few times about Prenda's big bag of tricks in trying to get contact information associated with IP addresses by any means necessary. Lately, that's meant filing questionable "hacking" (not copyright) cases in state court -- especially in St. Clair County, Illinois, which is currently enmeshed in a giant drug scandal -- where a named defendant is "sued" but the focus is on identifying people associated with a variety of IP addresses named as co-conspirators (but not named as defendants). In one such case, officially for "LW Systems," but involving the same crew of Prenda folks, the court has now put the brakes on the subpoenas, quashing them at the request of various ISPs and John Does associated with the IP addresses.

The "defendant" in this case, Christopher Hubbard is represented by Adam Urbanczyk, who, in previous cases, was accused by the judge of being "in bed together" with Team Prenda, for not opposing any sort of discovery. In an altogether different case, yet with some similarities to the one at hand, a defendant admitted to the court that he had agreed to be a named defendant and take a dive in not opposing discovery as part of his own "settlement."

In this case, the judge, Andrew Gleeson, clearly suspected something was up and said that he wanted to know more about the ownership and control of LW Systems. Gleeson also said that he was aware of Judge Wright's famous order in the Prenda case in California, as well as the Delvan Neville deposition in the First Time Videos case in Florida, which presents an awful lot of evidence that John Steele is uploading the videos himself, and setting them to encourage downloading -- which would certainly call into question what sort of "hacking" went on to access the files.

At the very least, Gleeson has also granted the motions to quash the subpoenas, meaning that "LW Systems" doesn't get the information it's been seeking.

Gleeson said he had questions about the complaint and ownership of plaintiff – LW Systems.

“I think I need to be careful…,” Gleeson said. “This is major litigation that will take years to go through.”

While it's not a resounding push back on Team Prenda, it certainly suggests that one of the few courts in the country that was still a "friendly" home for their cases is now growing skeptical as well.

Filed Under: adam urbanczyk, christopher hubbard, prenda, quashed, st. clair county, subpoenas
Companies: lw systems, prenda, prenda law

Another Judge Figures Out What Prenda Is Up To, Reopens Closed Case, Demands Information On Settlements

from the well,-look-at-that dept

It would appear that yet another federal judge has taken an interest in what Prenda Law was up to for the past few years. Over in Minnesota, US Magistrate Judge Franklin Noel has reopened a case that Prenda had dismissed and ordered Prenda's local counsel, Michael Dugas, to supply an awful lot of information about the settlements they collected from people during the shakedown. The court points out:

In light of Mr.Cooper's letter and Judge Wright's order, it appears to the Court that the plaintiff has relied on forged documents in securing multiple court orders authorizing the discovery of information that, in turn, led to settlements in the above-captioned cases.

Because of that, it's reopening the case:

The Court agrees with the reasoning of Pino and concludes--based on its own interpretation of Rule 60(b)(3) and Rule 60(d)(3)--that it has jurisdiction to strike a plaintiff's notice of voluntary dismissal, reopen the case, and award appropriate relief when allegations of a possible fraud on the court come to its attention. This interpretation of Rule 60 is necessary to preserve the integrity the of judicial system.

All three elements of the Pino test are met here: (1) the plaintiff attached a fraudulent document to the complaint; (2) the Court relied upon that document in authorizing the discovery of internet subscriber information--information the plaintiff was not entitled to receive absent a court order; and (3) after obtaining the discovery (which--at least as far as the Court is aware--is the only relief the plaintiff ever seeks in these cases), the plaintiff settled and voluntarily dismissed all of these cases.

Given that, the court has ordered Dugas to supply the details of everyone in the case who settled, including their contact info, their attorneys' contact info, the exact terms of the settlement agreements, "including to whom any money was paid and the manner of payment" while also saying that Dugas needs to supply all of those who settled (and their attorneys) with Judge Wright's order in California describing Prenda's scheme. Given the identifying info, this will be filed under seal, but Dugas has only five days to do so. Either way, it seems that more and more judges are aware of what happened, and they're even going back into old cases to explore...

Filed Under: alan cooper, franklin noel, michael dugas, minnesota, otis wright, prenda
Companies: prenda, prenda law

Another Court Tells Prenda To Pay Up On Attorneys Fees

from the adding-up dept

It looks like the bill for Prenda Law is going up. Yet another court has now awarded attorneys' fees, telling "AF Holdings" (one of Prenda's shell companies) to pay $9,425. Of course, since Prenda still tries to deny that it controls AF Holdings, I'm sure they'll try to avoid paying up. It would be extra amusing if they suggested Alan Cooper should pay up, since that's the name that was signed on various AF Holdings' filings, but which many people believe was really signed by John Steele. Of course, since that whole "faking the name" thing flopped, it's now been Mark Lutz -- former paralegal/lackey of John Steele -- who has been "named" as the boss of AF Holdings. So, it sounds like Lutz should pay this one... Now the question is how long does it take Lutz to realize that Steele, Hansmeier and Duffy will probably leave him hanging out to dry as well?

Filed Under: alan cooper, john steele, mark lutz, nick ranallo, paul duffy, paul hansmeier, prenda
Companies: af holdings, prenda, prenda law

Prenda Gets Some Tiny Bit Of Good News, As It May Get Out Of Two Critical Cases

from the walking-the-tight-rope dept

It's been a busy day for Prenda news, with some trouble in Minnesota and central California. However, it may have some slightly better news in two other key cases where judges had suddenly taken a deeper interest in what exactly was going on with Prenda. First up, the Sunlust case in Florida, which was actually the first case where a judge suggested Prenda was engaged in "fraud on the court" during an Abbott & Costello-worthy hearing. That case has continued to move forward with efforts to put sanctions on the key Prenda players. The lawyer, Graham Syfert, for the defendant, Tuan Nguyen, surprised some people by dropping Brett Gibbs from the target list, after he more or less threw his bosses at Prenda under the bus. However, Syfert has surprised a few folks by filing a motion to withdraw all pending motions. Basically, they're saying "drop the case and don't seek sanctions." That has left a lot of people scratching their heads, but suggests strongly that a settlement of sorts has been reached.

Perhaps the legal experts here can fill in the specifics about this one. I believe that the judge could continue to seek sanctions from Team Prenda if she feels it's appropriate, or if something improper happened, but it seems a lot less likely that this will happen now that Nguyen/Syfert have effectively bowed out of the case. Considering how deeply interested in the specifics the judge in this case had been, this is unfortunate. Yes, we already have Judge Wright's ruling on a similar matter in California, but having other courts come to the same conclusion seems like it would be useful.

Then we have the other Prenda case in Northern California, where the judge had become curious as to who exactly had signed a form on behalf of "Salt Marsh," ordering the original document to be produced. Last week, Paul Duffy claimed ignorance and tried to throw Brett Gibbs under the bus (again). Meanwhile, former Prenda paralegal/claimed boss of AF Holdings/Ingenuity 13, Mark Lutz, suggested that he had signed "on behalf of Salt Marsh" but no longer had the original. The judge could have dug deeper on that, but apparently has decided to let it go, saying that the question about Salt Marsh was "substantially complied with" and is ending the case.

Because AF's counsel has now substantially complied with the Court's order, the Court sees no basis to continue deferring a final judgment.

That means that particular case will also be closed. So, assuming the Florida case is similarly closed, that will leave the Judge Wright ruling in Central California as the only main battleground concerning the overall nature of Prenda's antics over the past few years.

Filed Under: brett gibbs, california, florida, graham syfert, john steele, mark lutz, paul duffy, paul hansmeier, prenda, tuan nguyen
Companies: ingenuity 13, prenda, prenda law, salt marsh, sunlust

Bad Day For Prenda Continues: Judge Rejects Stay, Adds $1k Per Day For Each Day They Don't Pay Up

from the couldn't-happen-to-a-nicer-bunch-of-people dept

Prenda's not having a very good day (or month, for that matter). We noted yesterday that Paul Hansmeier had asked the appeals court to put a stay on the attorney's fees awarded by Judge Otis Wright in California. The court rejected the request, partly on procedural grounds, noting that you have to put in the request at the district court first, not jumping the gun and going straight to the appeals court. Soon after that, the lawyer representing many of Team Prenda, Heather Rosing, filed for a stay in the district court, claiming that Prenda was "deprived of due process."

Judge Wright made quick work of this, noting the filing irregularity, and the pattern of seeking "eleventh-hour pleas for relief," and then rejected the request, and added a $1,000 per day penalty for every day that they fail to put up a bond in the amount owed. Oh yeah, also he asks them to explain to the court why they didn't pay up as ordered. Might as well include the full text here:

Prenda Law, Inc., through its attorneys at Klinedinst PC, filed a notice of appeal to the Ninth Circuit. (ECF No. 157.) Oddly, to this notice of appeal, Prenda attached an ex parte application seeking a stay of enforcement of the Court’s May 6, 2013 Order Issuing Sanctions. (ECF No. 157-1.) Not only was this application improperly filed; but once again, Prenda resorted to an eleventh-hour plea for relief.

Even assuming this application was properly filed, the Court finds no basis to grant Prenda’s request. Under the Court’s order, Prenda, along with John Steele, Paul Hansmeier, Paul Duffy, Brett Gibbs, AF Holdings LLC, and Ingenuity 13 LLC, were required to pay by May 20, 2013, an attorney’s-fee award of $81,319.72. By filing this application, it appears no such payment was made.

Instead, an emergency motion was filed with the Ninth Circuit to stay enforcement of the order. That motion was promptly denied. (ECF No. 150.) Prenda now seeks to remedy a problem of their own making. By refusing to pay, or at least refusing to post a supersedeas bond, Prenda (and the other parties) cannot establish that it “is without fault in creating the crisis that requires ex parte relief, or that the crisis occurred as a result of excusable neglect.” Mission Power Eng’g Co. v. Cont’l Casualty Co., 883 F. Supp. 488, 492 (C.D. Cal. 1995). Prenda’s application is therefore DENIED.

Further, Steele, Hansmeier, Duffy, Gibbs, AF Holdings, Ingenuity 13, and Prenda are hereby ORDERED TO SHOW CAUSE why they have contravened the Court’s order to pay the attorney’s-fee award. The Court hereby imposes a penalty of $1,000 per day, per person or entity,1 until this attorney’s-fee award is paid or a bond for the same amount is posted. This penalty shall be paid to the Clerk of Court on the same day the attorney’s-fee award is paid or the bond is posted. This penalty must be paid unless it is evident that the award was paid or the bond was posted on or before May 20, 2013. Failure to comply will result in additional sanctions.

Upon motion and posting of a supersedeas bond, the Court will stay execution of the attorney’s-fee award. Fed. R. Civ. P. 62(d).

Finally, as a housekeeping matter, the Court requests Brett Gibbs to file requests for withdrawal of attorney in this and the related cases. Brett Gibbs appears to have withdrawn from these cases. (OSC Hr’g Tr. 87:1–8, Mar. 11, 2013 (“I am no longer employed by Prenda or any other corporation or LLC that is involved in these cases.”).) Given the circumstances and the relationship between Gibbs and his clients, the Court will approve his requests for withdrawal.

IT IS SO ORDERED.

And so it is. Perhaps, rather than spending so much time talking to the press, John Steele should have been counting his pennies to pay up.

Filed Under: brett gibbs, john steele, otis wright, paul duffy, paul hansmeier, prenda
Companies: ingenuity 13, prenda, prenda law

Prenda's Paul Hansmeier Asks Appeals Court To Delay Sanctions; Appeals Court Says 'No, Try Again'

from the another-failure dept

Well, well. Some Prenda supporters (shockingly, they exist) in our comments have been arguing that Judge Otis Wright's order against Team Prenda is the sign of a rogue judge who will get overturned. Of course, similar actions underway in other district courts suggest otherwise. On top of that, it would appear that the 9th Circuit appeals court doesn't seem too concerned about Judge Wright's order on a first pass either. Late last week, Paul Hansmeier, one of the key Prenda players, asked the appeals court to delay the requirement to pay sanctions so that he could get a proper appeal together. Of course, perhaps rather than putting together 30 pages protesting about the sanctions, Hansmeier should have been putting together a real appeal (or, as it turns out, reading how to file a stay pending appeal). The filing is certainly amusing. He whines about the lack of due process and the possible "reputational injury" this might cause.

Morgan Pietz, the lawyer who has been opposing Prenda in this matter (and, obviously, who would receive the bulk of the attorney's fees ordered), filed a very short and to the point brief saying he was actually fine with a stay on the payment, pending appeal, of course, but he wanted Hansmeier to first post a bond to show that the payment could be made. He also noted that he would have been happy to make this concession to Hansmeier if Hansmeier had just contacted him to let him know he was filing the brief requesting the stay. That's actually kind of a key point. Judges generally want the various lawyers to talk to each other about what's happening before surprise briefs are filed like this -- and so pointing out that Hansmeier filed a 30 page brief asking for the stay without even letting Pietz know about it probably won't be looked at too kindly by the court. As Pietz points out, there is very real concern about whether or not Prenda will ever actually pay up if they don't put up a bond.

The need for a substantial bond to secure payment of costs and fees from Prenda is not an idle request. Prenda Law, Inc. and its associated lawyers are an organization that is rapidly falling apart. They have dismissed the vast majority of their pending court cases across the country—cases which are their sole source of revenue. Meanwhile, as the days go by, they are increasingly being hit with new motions and orders to show cause for sanctions in various courts where they have tried, with mixed success, to escape from the consequences of their actions. Further, the lawyers and the entities involved here are likely the subject of potential criminal investigations, including an IRS investigation, flowing from the court’s formal referrals in the sanctions order below. In short, there may not be any solvent persons around to collect from for much longer. Further, as will be detailed in briefing on the merits, the lawyers’ interests in these cases (as well as their assets, one presumes) are hidden behind a web of Nevis LLC’s and mysterious offshore trusts. These are all complicated factual issues, with which the district court is already familiar, which is why the district court should set the amount and terms of the bond

Pietz also points out that the "reputational harm" argument is silly, because everyone already knows about it.

Either way, the Appeals Court wasted little time in saying "no," mainly because Paul Hansmeier, who presents himself as an accomplished lawyer, appears not to know the first thing about filing a stay pending appeal.

Appellant's emergency motion for a stay of the district court’s May 6, 2013 sanctions order is denied without prejudice to renewal, if necessary, upon the filing and disposition of such request in the district court. See Fed. R. App. P. 8(a)(1).

The rule in question says that if you're going to ask for such a stay, you have to first ask in the district court, rather than going straight to the appeals court. I would imagine that if Hansmeier had talked to Pietz, Pietz might have made that point as well. The deadline to pay up is tomorrow, though now it seems like Hansmeier may need to go ask Judge Wright for a stay in the matter if he wants to avoid having to pay up.

Of course, that's not the only trouble Hansmeier is facing from the 9th Circuit, who now appears rather aware of Hansmeier's reputation. You may recall that Hansmeier has also been involved in the sketchy practice of protesting class action settlements in the hopes of getting paid off to go away (in one letter he directly asked for $30,000 to go away). The appeal of one of those class action settlement battles is happening in this very same 9th Circuit, and Hansmeier had applied to be admitted in the 9th Circuit, where he cannot currently practice. As pointed out by Popehat, the court has taken notice of Judge Wright's order and told Hansmeier that he needs to clear up that before it will admit him. As Ken White noted:

In other words: no, Paul, you can't have admission to the Ninth Circuit until this is cleared up, and we won't let you represent a client before us in the interim.

Actions have consequences.

Filed Under: 9th circuit, appeal, otis wright, paul hansmeier, prenda, sanctions
Companies: prenda, prenda law

Court Dumps Prenda's Subpoena

from the quashed dept

You may recall that Prenda had (not surprisingly) gone crazy overboard with subpoenas in its attempt to intimidate some anti-copyright troll bloggers and their commenters. The EFF stepped in and asked a court to quash the subpoena, which the court has now done, in large part because Prenda never even bothered to respond.

As of this date, no responsive memorandum has been filed. LRCiv 7.2(i) provides in part “if the opposing party does not serve and file the required answering memorandum, ...such noncompliance may be deemed a consent to the denial or granting of the motion and the Court may dispose of the motion summarily.” Pursuant to this rule, the Court deems Plaintiff's failure to serve and file the required answering memorandum a consent to the granting of Defendant-Movant's Motion to Quash the Subpoena to Wild West Domains Seeking Identity Information.

I guess Prenda's a bit busy. Or someone there realized this subpoena had zero chance of actually going forward. Either way, the subpoena is dead.

Filed Under: die troll die, prenda, subpoena
Companies: prenda, prenda law

Judge Wright Sentences Prenda To Poetic Justice

from the a-little-something-extra dept

Yesterday we covered Judge Wright's order against Team Prenda, noting the key points and the healthy serving of Star Trek references. However, in that post we left out one beautifully comedic bit of just desserts that Wright placed in the ruling, which H. Poteat was kind enough to point out. In the introduction, Judge Wright clearly lays out the basics of copyright trolling and why it's so nasty. In particular, he calls out the nefarious nature of the "settlement" offers:

Then they offer to settle—for a sum calculated to be just below the cost of a bare-bones defense

Okay. Remember that line. Because then, at the end of his order, where he awards the attorney's fees of $40,659.86 and then doubles them "as a punitive measure" to $81,319.72, Judge Wright adds a little footnote after that amount, which reads:

This punitive portion is calculated to be just below the cost of an effective appeal.

Well played, Judge Wright. Well played.

Filed Under: copyright trolls, john steele, otis wright, paul duffy, paul hansmeier, prenda
Companies: prenda, prenda law

Judge Wright Tells Team Prenda To Pay $80k, Refers Their Activity To State Bars, Feds & IRS

from the boom dept

Plenty of folks have been waiting to see how Judge Otis Wright would finally rule in the Prenda case he was overseeing. As you may recall, Judge Wright began to see through the tricks and facades put up by Brett Gibbs and Prenda, and eventually ordered everyone to show up in his courtroom (twice). The hearings, as you may recall, did not go well for Team Prenda and all its associated players. While Wright may be somewhat limited in what he can do to Prenda, it appears he's doing his best to throw whatever book he can at them, randomly using as many Star Trek references as he can cram into the tight 11 page order. The discussion lays out the details pretty clearly. We'll post the whole key part of the discussion, because it Judge Wright isn't wasting time and I'm sure many of you will appreciate it:

Steele, Hansmeier, and Duffy (“Principals”) are attorneys with shattered law practices. Seeking easy money, they conspired to operate this enterprise and formed the AF Holdings and Ingenuity 13 entities (among other fungible entities) for the sole purpose of litigating copyright-infringement lawsuits. They created these entities to shield the Principals from potential liability and to give an appearance of legitimacy.

AF Holdings and Ingenuity 13 have no assets other than several copyrights to pornographic movies. There are no official owners or officers for these two offshore entities, but the Principals are the de facto owners and officers.

The Principals started their copyright-enforcement crusade in about 2010, through Prenda Law, which was also owned and controlled by the Principals. Their litigation strategy consisted of monitoring BitTorrent download activity of their copyrighted pornographic movies, recording IP addresses of the computers downloading the movies, filing suit in federal court to subpoena Internet Service Providers (“ISPs”) for the identity of the subscribers to these IP addresses, and sending cease-and-desist letters to the subscribers, offering to settle each copyright infringement claim for about $4,000.

This nationwide strategy was highly successful because of statutory copyright damages, the pornographic subject matter, and the high cost of litigation. Most defendants settled with the Principals, resulting in proceeds of millions of dollars due to the numerosity of defendants. These settlement funds resided in the Principals’ accounts and not in accounts belonging to AF Holdings or Ingenuity 13. No taxes have been paid on this income.

For defendants that refused to settle, the Principals engaged in vexatious litigation designed to coerce settlement. These lawsuits were filed using boilerplate complaints based on a modicum of evidence, calculated to maximize settlement profits by minimizing costs and effort.

The Principals have shown little desire to proceed in these lawsuits when faced with a determined defendant. Instead of litigating, they dismiss the case. When pressed for discovery, the Principals offer only disinformation—even to the Court.

The Principals have hired willing attorneys, like Gibbs, to prosecute these cases. Though Gibbs is culpable for his own conduct before the Court, the Principals directed his actions. In some instances, Gibbs operated within narrow parameters given to him by the Principals, whom he called “senior attorneys.”

The Principals maintained full control over the entire copyright-litigation operation. The Principals dictated the strategy to employ in each case, ordered their hired lawyers and witnesses to provide disinformation about the cases and the nature of their operation, and possessed all financial interests in the outcome of each case.

The Principals stole the identity of Alan Cooper (of 2170 Highway 47 North, Isle, MN 56342). The Principals fraudulently signed the copyright assignment for “Popular Demand” using Alan Cooper’s signature without his authorization, holding him out to be an officer of AF Holdings. Alan Cooper is not an officer of AF Holdings and has no affiliation with Plaintiffs other than his employment as a groundskeeper for Steele. There is no other person named Alan Cooper related to AF Holdings or Ingenuity 13.

The Principals ordered Gibbs to commit the following acts before this Court: file copyright-infringement complaints based on a single snapshot of Internet activity; name individuals as defendants based on a statistical guess; and assert a copyright assignment with a fraudulent signature. The Principals also instructed Gibbs to prosecute these lawsuits only if they remained profitable; and to dismiss them otherwise.

Plaintiffs have demonstrated their willingness to deceive not just this Court, but other courts where they have appeared. Plaintiffs’ representations about their operations, relationships, and financial interests have varied from feigned ignorance to misstatements to outright lies. But this deception was calculated so that the Court would grant Plaintiffs’ early-discovery requests, thereby allowing Plaintiffs to identify defendants and exact settlement proceeds from them. With these granted requests, Plaintiffs borrow the authority of the Court to pressure settlement.

That last paragraph is the key one. Given all of this, Judge Wright looks at what he can do. First, he digs into the failure of Team Prenda to "conduct a sufficient investigation" into whether or not anyone they were suing actually infringed on the copyrights they held. However, he notes, his bigger concern is not the lack of sufficient investigation, but rather Prenda's attempt at a "cover-up" of this point as well as Gibbs' "hasty after-the-fact investigation, and a shoddy one at that." In fact, he calls certain statements from Gibbs concerning the investigation "a blatant lie."

Gibbs’s statement is a blatant lie. His statement resembles other statements given by Plaintiffs in this and their other cases: statements that sound reasonable but lack truth. Thus, the Court concludes that Gibbs, even in the face of sanctions, continued to make factual misrepresentions to the Court.

However, he notes that even with this, it is inappropriate to impose Rule 11 sanctions (typically used for attorney misconduct) because the cases have already been dismissed. Wright then goes through a list of other deceptions by Prenda, including the Cooper forgery, ignoring the order blocking early discovery, the self-dealing with the copyright, the failure to disclose their own interest in the case, and other attempts to obfuscate facts. However, he notes, sanctions are still not the most appropriate, given that a decently large sanction wouldn't be effective because the plaintiffs "will transfer out their settlement proceeds and plead paucity."

However, he obviously does not feel they should be let off the hook. So he orders:

• They have to pay the defendant's legal fees of $40,659.86, which he then doubles "as a punitive measure" to $81,319.72, noting "This punitive multiplier is justified by Plaintiffs’ brazen misconduct and relentless fraud."
• He notes that "The Principals, AF Holdings, Ingenuity 13, Prenda Law, and Gibbs are liable for this sum jointly and severally, and shall pay this sum within 14 days of this order." Basically, all of them together are responsible for figuring out how to pay the money. As defined earlier, Steele, Hansmeier and Duffy are "the Principals" though I wouldn't put it past the three of them to claim that they are non-parties to all of this and thus not responsible for the payment.
• The bigger issue: referring the conduct of Steele, Hansmeier, Duffy and Gibbs to various state and federal bars. As Wright notes: "there is little doubt that that Steele, Hansmeier, Duffy, Gibbs suffer from a form of moral turpitude unbecoming of an officer of the court." That won't look good on a resume.
• The even bigger issue: alerting the feds of possible racketeering violations:

  though Plaintiffs boldly probe the outskirts of law, the only enterprise they resemble is RICO. The federal agency eleven decks up is familiar with their prime directive and will gladly refit them for their next voyage. The Court will refer this matter to the United States Attorney for the Central District of California. The will also refer this matter to the Criminal Investigation Division of the Internal Revenue Service and will notify all judges before whom these attorneys have pending cases. For the sake of completeness, the Court requests Pietz to assist by filing a report, within 14 days, containing contact information for: (1) every bar (state and federal) where these attorneys are admitted to practice; and (2) every judge before whom these attorneys have pending cases.

• And, finally, a smaller issue: Duffy and Gibbs, who are admitted to practice in California are referred to the "Standing Committee on Discipline." That's a relatively minor point given all of the above.

The end result may not yet be that satisfying for Prenda-watchers, but Team Prenda may still be in serious, serious trouble. This actually matches Ken White's predictions pretty damn closely, where he noted the limited ability to sanction, but focused on the referrals to the feds and to various state and federal bars. The inclusion of the IRS is an interesting one, as the evidence suggested that Team Prenda wasn't paying taxes on the money coming into the various shell companies.

So now we wait to see what, if anything, the feds will do -- though, as Ken noted, when a federal judge recommends such an investigation, the feds tend to follow through.

Filed Under: angela van den hemel, brett gibbs, john steele, mark lutz, morgan pietz, otis wright, paul duffy, paul hansmeier, prenda
Companies: prenda, prenda law

Angry Prenda Is Angry

from the don't-file-angry dept

Ken White blogs at Popehat. He's a litigator and criminal defense attorney at Brown White & Newhouse LLP in Los Angeles. His views are his alone, not those of his firm.

All of Ken's coverage of the Prenda Law saga is collected here.

When it comes to getting angry in federal court, perhaps I should not throw the first stone. After all, just a few days ago a federal judge was moved to tell me "Mr. White, calm down, you aren't arguing to a jury." [The result was nonetheless quite satisfactory, thank you.] And I rely upon partners and associates to tone my written work down. (A memorable example: "The SEC's proposed jury instructions find no support in the law or the facts of the case" is acceptable, "The jury instructions are not a vehicle for the SEC's attorneys to work out their self-esteem issues" is not.)

Nevertheless, I will offer this advice: don't file angry.

Attorney Jacques Nazaire, local counsel for Prenda Law putative client AF Holdings, has done just that down in Georgia. The result is not pretty.

I previously wrote about how Mr. Patel, a defendant in an AF Holdings case in federal court in Georgia, sought sanctions in response to AF Holdings' dismissal of the case. Jacques Nazaire has filed a very angry response and cross-motion for sanctions, together with Exhibit A, Exhibit B, and Exhibit C. As we shall see, one of those is an extremely ill-considered declaration from mysterious Prenda Law figure Mark Lutz.

Many of Mr. Nazaire's arguments are now familiar: he says that there's nothing wrong with undisclosed attorney interests in plaintiff entities so long as the judge is not presented with a conflict of interest, and he repeats the now-familiar argument that it doesn't really matter if Alan Cooper's signature was forged on a copyright assignment.

But he also makes some interesting new arguments.

Underpants Gnome Logic

If I may briefly summarize a key component of Mr. Nazaire's argument:

1. We had a highly meritorious case against Mr. Patel.
2. Moreover, he defaulted, and that default should have stuck.
3. Plus he's made admissions that show he's liable.
4. ???
5. So we've dismissed the case with prejudice, and there's nothing to see here, other than to note how strong our case was.

Well okay then.

How Dare You Say I'm Brett Gibbs' Lackey!

Amongst other things, Mr. Nazaire is very irritated at the suggestion that he was taking orders from Prenda Law figure Brett Gibbs, and wants you to know that he is his own man, exercising his own judgment:

From what has been put forth, Brett Gibbs is a fairly new attorney much like Defendant’s counsel. The undersigned, on the other hand, has over 16 years experience practicing law, has settled over millions of dollars worth of cases, including state and federal cases and has also served in Afghanistan as a Foreign Claims Commissioner, settling foreign claims in a war zone.

The undersigned would not assign Brett Gibbs to negotiate a left turn with his vehicle, let alone a settlement on behalf of a client, regardless of whether the case was venued in Georgia, California or Afghanistan. While Gibbs may be a pleasant young man, to assert that Plaintiff’s attorney takes orders from Brett Gibbs is absurd and laughable.

I'm sure Mr. Nazaire is very highly qualified. After all, as Fight Copyright Trolls points out, only a highly-qualified lawyer would advertise on Craigslist to make court appearances at $125 a pop. Craigslist is widely respected as the best place to find an experienced litigator, a gently-used futon, or someone to dress up like Herman Goering and poop on you.

That aside, Mr. Nazaire's argument that he's not taking orders from anybody is an odd strategic choice under these circumstances. I appreciate his choice not to blame problems on Brett Gibbs. I appreciate the creativity of pulling Brett Gibbs out from under the bus in order to tell him that he sucks. But I'm not sure about the full-throated "I'm in charge but there's nothing to see here" approach by a local counsel at this point, once Prenda Law's principals have taken the Fifth. Has Mr. Nazaire truly slaked his thirst with the Prenda Kool-Aid? Or is he very politely sparing Mssrs. Steele, Hansmeier, and Duffy the bother of throwing him under a bus, as they have rather unconvincingly done to Brett Gibbs? How very collegial.

EFFFFFFFF! From Hell's Heart I Stab At Thee!

Mr. Nazaire, like many Prendateers, is very upset with the Electronic Frontier Foundation. He accuses Mr. Patel's lawyer of being associated with EFF, which he describes like it's some kind of terrorist group:

One other important fact for the Court to consider is Chintella’s role as a panel attorney for the Electronic Frontier Foundation (“EFF”). (See https://www.eff.org/issues/file-sharing/subpoena-defense). The overriding mission of the EFF has been to shield the Internet from effective regulation—“defending it from the intrusion of territorial government.” Jack L. Goldsmith & Tim Wu, Who Controls the Internet?: Illusions of a Borderless World 18 (2006). This mission relies on undermining effective enforcement of intellectual property rights. Purporting to speak on behalf of “cyberspace,” a co-founder of EFF (who presently serves on its board of directors) has warned the “Governments of the Industrial World” that “[y]our legal concepts of property, expression, identity, movement, and context do not apply to us.” John Perry Barlow, A Declaration of the Independence of Cyberspace (Feb. 8, 1996), available at https://projects.eff.org/~barlow/Declaration-Final.html (as of April 17, 2013).

The EFF is a left wing organization which has some of the same goals as the anti-government group “Anonymous” as well as the terrorist group “Wikileaks”.

It is amusing, in a dark way, that Prenda Law and its local counsel continue to portray themselves as the righteous defenders of intellectual property rights. Were that so, you might find support for them amongst attorneys and organizations in the business of bittorrent litigation and other pursuits of online pirates. You won't. At most, you'll find consternation that the Prenda Law enterprise has inflicted a grave wound upon the credibility of online piracy litigation across the United States.

Mr. Nazaire further accuses the EFF of witness tampering — excuse me, witness "tempering" — because he hears they paid for Alan Cooper's travel to and from Los Angeles. He demands:

4) An order requiring Defendant’s counsel, who is a member of the Electronic Frontier Foundation (EFF) to disclose the total amount of monetary benefits received by Alan Cooper from the EFF and its members, agents, colleagues and followers. Should the case not be dismissed, an order scheduling a hearing into possible witness tempering [sic] by the EFF.

Mr. Nazaire explains:

Additionally, it is reported on the internet that Mitch Stoltz, a staff attorney with the EFF has stated that EFF took care of Cooper’s travel arrangements to testify in a California case. As such, any statements made by Mr. Cooper should be suspect. There is no evidence to suggest that Mr. Cooper has worked an honest day in his life. Rather, it appears that Mr. Cooper has spent his lifetime depending on the kindness of others. Logic dictates that the more Mr. Cooper testifies against those opposed to the EFF, the longer he is allowed to travel from state to state.

There are several things you should note about this argument.

First, notice the alacrity with which Mr. Nazaire traipses from "Mr. Patel's claims are speculation not supported by evidence" to "it is reported on the internet."

Second, remember the context. Alan Cooper didn't travel to Los Angeles for kicks. He didn't travel as a voluntary witness to support allies. He went because United States District Judge Otis D. Wright II ordered him to appear. There seems to be no dispute that he's a man of modest means. His testimony made it clear that he finds the whole experience confounding and terrifying. The evidence suggests he was repeatedly threatened with legal ruin by the slick, entirely vile John Steele. Plus, despite Mr. Nazaire's insinuation, there is no indication he's gone anywhere else to testify, let alone been paid by the EFF to do so. Under the circumstances, the EFF funding an involuntary witnesses' travel — an involuntary witness who may be the victim of identity fraud — is a mitzvah. I leave it to reader to assess the relative character of the EFF for doing it and Mr. Nazaire for attacking it.

Third, consider where Mr. Nazaire's comments leave us with respect to Prenda Law's position on Alan Cooper: even if you take everything they say at face value (a prospect that exhausts the world's bounteous supply of drooling credulity), it means that AF Holdings chose, as an officer or representative to sign its crucial legal documents, a man who has not "worked an honest day in his life" and is mentally ill and dangerous. Nevertheless, they would have you believe, you should accept AF Holdings as a legitimate enterprise and the lawyers conducting litigation on its behalf as trustworthy. How appealing does that sound to you?

I Did It For The Lutz

Responding to accusations that AF Holdings is a front for Prenda Lawyers, Mr. Nazaire supplies an undated affidavit from Prenda Law paralegal Mark Lutz. Mr. Lutz swears that a trust called "Salt Marsh" owns AF Holdings, and that the beneficiaries of "Salt Marsh" are Mr. Lutz's hypothetical and yet-unborn future children. (Damn you, Prenda, for making me refresh my memory of the horror that is the Rule Against Perpetuities!)

You may recall that Paul Hansmeier — offered by Prenda Law as AF Holdings' witness most knowledgeable about its origins and ownership — was unable to explain the nature or beneficiaries of the trust.

Let's sum up, then, what we know about Mark Lutz, and by extension AF Holdings. Mr. Lutz has been identified as a former paralegal for Steele & Hansmeier, a predecessor to Prenda Law. He showed up in court as a "corporate representative" of another Prenda Law entity, Sunlust, resulting in this thoroughly embarrassing exchange:

THE COURT: Mr. Lutz, you're under oath, you have to give truthful answers or you face penalties of perjury. Do you understand that?
MR. LUTZ: Yes.
THE COURT: What is your position with Sunlust?
MR. LUTZ: I'm a representative of them.
THE COURT: What does that mean?
MR. LUTZ: Corporate representative.
THE COURT: What does that mean?
MR. LUTZ: They asked me to appear on various matters throughout the country.
THE COURT: Are you an officer of the company?
MR. LUTZ: I'm not, no.
THE COURT: Are you authorized to bind the company to any legal contracts?
MR. LUTZ: I am not.
THE COURT: Are you salaried?
MR. LUTZ: No, 1099.
THE COURT: So you are a 1099 contracted entity and you just go around and sit in a Court and represent yourself to be the corporate representative of the company?
MR. LUTZ: Yes.
THE COURT: Mr. Torres, did you know this was Mr. Lutz's position, a paid corporate representative?
MR. TORRES: No, Your Honor, I did not.
THE COURT: Who is the president of Sunlust?
MR. LUTZ: I'm unaware.
THE COURT: Who is the vice president?
MR. LUTZ: I'm unaware
THE COURT: Who is the secretary?
MR. LUTZ: I have no idea.
THE COURT: Who owns Sunlust?
MR. LUTZ: I do not know.
THE COURT: Who signs your checks?
MR. LUTZ: I believe somebody in the accounting department.
THE COURT: What is their name?
MR. LUTZ: To be honest with you, I can't read the signature.
THE COURT: Where is the accounting department located?
MR. LUTZ: I'm sorry?
THE COURT: Where is the accounting department located?
MR. LUTZ: I've received checks from California.
THE COURT: How much are you paid monthly to be the corporate representative?
MR. LUTZ: Again, it depends on my appearances, the number of appearances that I do.
THE COURT: How much were you paid last month?
MR. LUTZ: Approximately $1,000.

Moreover, Paul Hansmeier — acting as AF Holdings' most knowledgeable person (not, it would seem, a particularly high bar) testified that Lutz is the CEO or "manager" of AF Holdings, but is not paid anything for that position, and despite being AF Holdings' sole employee, has arranged for Alan Cooper (whom Prenda Law now says is a crazy violent ne'er do well) to sign copyright assignments on behalf of AF Holdings, because Mark Lutz is a busy man:

Well, it would be speculation as
to why AF Holdings took one action or another. I would
say that, for example, you know, Mr. Lutz is an
individual. There are a certain number hours in a day
and for him to accomplish everything he's going to
accomplish in any given day, or for anyone in any
capacity in any business, you rely on third parties to
aid you to accomplish various tasks.

Meanwhile, Mark Lutz — who showed up at a hearing before Judge Wright without counsel, and apparently showed up as a corporate representative in a court in Florida dressed like he was going shrimping afterwards — may or may not have children in the future, and if he does, those children will be the beneficiaries of the trust that owns AF Holdings, which, we are assured, is a perfectly legitimate business conducting good-faith copyright litigation to protect its interests in movies. Those movies, by the way, have never yielded any money except through litigation, and that litigation has only yielded money to the Prenda Law lawyers and their related "experts."

Nonetheless, Mr. Nazaire will have you believe, it is outrageous and sanctionable for Mr. Patel to seek sanctions and ask the Georgia federal court to conclude an inquiry into whether Prenda Law and AF Holdings have concealed the true ownership of AF Holdings.

Gentle readers: draw your own conclusions.

Sure, What The Hell, Let's Bring In Booking Photo Extortion Too

Showing the sharp wit and unerring eye for palatable arguments that characterizes his entire brief, Mr. Nazaire also launches a personal attack on Mr. Patel's lawyer Blair Chintella. In a salvo that I'm sure the judge will find pertinent and not at all gratuitous, Mr. Nazaire asserts that Mr. Chintella is pursuing his own interests rather than the interests of his client, and asserts that Mr. Chintella has an unreasoning grudge against John Steele (the same John Steele Mr. Nazaire suggests is entirely irrelevant to this case):

Mr. Chintella perhaps believes that Mr. Steele has spread Chintella’s mug shot, from a 2011 DUI arrest, across the Internet. However, Mr. Chintella’s mug shot was circulated by infamous websites that post mug shots from public arrest records and demand monetary payment for their removal (www.bustedmugshots.com and www.justmugshots.com). Nevertheless, Plaintiff believes that Chintella’s acrimony towards Steele is important context for the Court to consider when reviewing Defendant’s motion, which seeks, inter alia, substantial relief against Steele, even though Steele is not a party or attorney involved in this case. Plaintiff’s attorney has a copy of the mugshot and can provide the same to the Court if so requested.

Truly Mr. Nazaire's distaste for "extortion" is touching.

Mr. Chintella may be mildly and temporarily embarrassed that a 2011 DUI arrest has been emphasized in a pleading in federal court. I suspect, however, that transitory and mild embarrassment will pale compared to the impact Mr. Nazaire's connection to this matter will have on his reputation. Potential local counsel for Prenda Law or the Prendateers, take note.

Filed Under: john steele, prenda