Associated Press notes D&D lawsuits

[Dannyalcatraz]

"Nolan, representing himself in the case..."

Yee gawds!!! I was going to say that any defense lawyer worth his salt would have checked to make sure there was some paper evidence to back up the lost wallet defense...

Free legal advice for all... If a subsidiary of a corporation the size of Hasbro, Inc. is suing you in Federal Court, get a lawyer.

So what happens in this case? Mediation goes nowhere or settles for a nominal sum that was hardly worth the effort? If mediation doesn't solve it, the guy from Florida doesn't bother to show up for court in Seattle. WotC gets a default judgment. If they try to collect at all, the guy in Florida declares bankruptcy so fast, their head spins, and they get zilch... Kinda begs the question as to the point.

1) If a subsidiary of a corporation the size of Hasbro, Inc. is suing you in Federal Court, get a lawyer...or 2 or 3.

2) I'm not a Bankruptcy specialist, but it is my understanding that you can't necessarily extinguish your court judgments in bankrupcy. You may be able to prevent new cases from being filed (depending on which chapter), but rendered judgments are resistant to bankrupcy nullification.

IOW, he can declare bankruptcy, but he may still have that judgement hanging over him like a sword of Damocles.

 

[Cadfan]

Um, this is not an attack Cadfan, but either you don't drive much, or you are from a place with a very different driving culture to the US or, so I understand, the Commonwealth. Speeding is endemic. The police catch a tiny percentage and it doesn't cause anyone to slow down. Largely because the chance of being caught is so low and because people are not rational actors.

Speeding is endemic but heavy speeding is not. In reality, most police departments have an unofficial "real" speed limit, above which they will ticket you, and most people drive within it. Plus the penalties for speeding are graduated based on how fast you were going, creating a sort of curve of risk aversity that keeps people's speeds clustered close to the official line. Plus, while most people are not caught every time they speed, almost all people are caught at least some of the time they speed, constantly reinforcing the rules and creating a culture in which certain limits are placed on the typical person's driving speeds.

Contrast this to places in Europe that genuinely do not have speed limits- there is a significant difference in speeds driven.

2) I'm not a Bankruptcy specialist, but it is my understanding that you can't necessarily extinguish your court judgments in bankrupcy. You may be able to prevent new cases from being filed (depending on which chapter), but rendered judgments are resistant to bankrupcy nullification.

I haven't looked into this in a while, but many legal settlements and judgments are nullifiable in bankruptcy. There's a list somewhere that I haven't looked at in a little over a year. To give an example, last I checked, I believe that you can get a judgment for a traffic case nullified, but not a traffic case that involved driving while intoxicated. So things vary depending on why you're sued, but the default rule as I remember it is that you can in fact nullify a judgment.

 

[rogueattorney]

It depends on what the judgment is for. Restitution from a criminal case or judgment for child support cannot be discharged in bankruptcy, for example. Copyright law might be different - not my field (neither is bankruptcy for that matter) - but most civil judgments are treated like any other unsecured debts in bankruptcy.

 

[Bumbles]

There are also different laws regarding what property can be taken, or how much of your salary can be garnished. In Florida, if I recall correctly, your house and car can't normally be taken. Or it might just be your house. That's why Bernie Madoff and O. J. Simpson have houses there anyway. Actual value doesn't matter, you can even keep it if you move to a more expensive home. Only if you move to a cheaper one do you lose the value.

Not that I imagine the guy has much of a house, mind you, he's probably some young guy with nothing anyway.

 

[Cadfan]

There are also different laws regarding what property can be taken, or how much of your salary can be garnished. In Florida, if I recall correctly, your house and car can't normally be taken. Or it might just be your house. That's why Bernie Madoff and O. J. Simpson have houses there anyway. Actual value doesn't matter, you can even keep it if you move to a more expensive home. Only if you move to a cheaper one do you lose the value.

Not that I imagine the guy has much of a house, mind you, he's probably some young guy with nothing anyway.

Florida is relatively nasty, unfortunately. He'd be better off in Texas- they'd let him keep his all terrain vehicles and his firearms.

 

[SkidAce]

I wonder if it's been too long to use this reference:

How will it end?
<kosh>In fire</kosh>

--Steve

It's never too long to use B5 quotes.

 

[jaerdaph]

Nolan's only hope may be the Chewbacca defense...

I still hope he gets boned though.

 

[Dannyalcatraz]

I haven't looked into this in a while, but many legal settlements and judgments are nullifiable in bankruptcy. There's a list somewhere that I haven't looked at in a little over a year.

and

It depends on what the judgment is for. Restitution from a criminal case or judgment for child support cannot be discharged in bankruptcy, for example. Copyright law might be different - not my field (neither is bankruptcy for that matter) - but most civil judgments are treated like any other unsecured debts in bankruptcy.

Exactly- I know the rules for Criminal and Child Support cases, since I've actually encountered them.

However, even though I am involved in copyrights myself, I've never had anyone try a Bankruptcy nullification, so I have no idea as to what would happen. If someone does try a something like that, I'd consult a bankruptcy specialist.

However, since Copyright does have a criminal element, I'd bet that such a defense would be limited at best.

 

[Voadam]

The handbook, which includes 242 pages of rules, and manuals sold online bear electronic watermarks that restrict use of copyright material to a specific buyer or user.

The legal editor in me wants to point out that it is not the watermark that restricts use of copyright material. The watermarking and the copyright issues are separate.

As far as I know as an RPGNow pdf purchaser there are no different restrictions on use of copyright material between the pdfs with watermarks and the ones without that I bought.

Knowing what I do about the pdfs (that WotC sold them for less than the print MSRP) I also would not have gone with the print MSRP as the suggested retail price per "copy" in the story either.

 

[jaerdaph]

On a related note, if this ever does go to trial before a jury because of the damages, Nolan may not find any sympathy there. This woman is looking at $80,000 in damages per downloaded song:

Jury rules against Minn. woman in download case - Yahoo! News

My heart goes out to her. Not.