Policy —

Settle up: voicemails show P2P porn law firms in action

What's it like to be on the receiving end of a mass file-sharing lawsuit? Get …

The pitch isn't subtle. Lawyers behind the recent wave of mass file-sharing lawsuits in the US want to earn quick settlements from defendants rather than litigate years-long cases, so it's no surprise that their settlement efforts are persistent. Settlement amounts are set at a few thousand dollars—enough to hurt but less than it would cost even to get a lawyer started on defending someone. In addition to the money, there's the time—years of one's life tied up in a court case—and the fact that most of these cases involve "adult content."

The lawyers know all of this, and their settlement folks make all these points explicit while attempting extract cash from defendants. One such defendant, targeted in a mass file-sharing porn case in Illinois, provided us with a snapshot of what it's like to be on the receiving end of these settlement attempts.

The defendant doesn't live in Illinois, but starting a few months ago, he began receiving phone calls from someone in the Steele Hansmeier law offices. (John Steele, based in Chicago, has filed all of the current mass file-sharing lawsuits in the state; numerous judges are displeased by his tactics.) The calls have continued almost every business day since; the defendant doesn't answer them any more, which means that he has ended up with a lengthy collection of voice mails, some of which he shared with us.

Early in the series of calls, the settlement agent suggests that a "settlement date" is approaching, trying to create a sense of urgency. But the date passes, then weeks pass, and still the calls continue. The script is generally the same, but with small variations each time. The themes are clear: a court case is expensive, it will take two years of your life, and "adult content" is involved.

"Our client is preparing to move forward with federal litigation, which is far more costly," says the caller in one message. In another, he notes that "being named in a federal suit involving adult content is going to cost you far more… If you want to avoid that, we need to have a conversation."

A selection of clips from a few of the voice mails are included below, with identifying information such as names, dates, and phone numbers removed.

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After several weeks, the script changes a bit. "Our client has put a note next to your IP address, which means it's in line to be removed from the current case," says the caller, "and at that point we'll name you individually in another one, where you'll be served and have to retain counsel for a federal case and go to court for, uh, maybe a year and a half, two years. If you'd like to avoid all that, give us a call."

Steele Hansmeier wants $2,900 to settle the case.

Did the defendant do it? That remains unclear. "I don't have that kind of money nor do I feel I have to pay because the file he mentioned honestly does not look recognizable nor ring any bells," he tells Ars.

For groups like the Electronic Frontier Foundation, however, the real issue here is process. "Because the settlement amount is less than the cost of even a pro forma defense, and the downside risk of litigation is so great under copyright’s lopsided damages scheme, the pressure to settle rather than raise legitimate defenses is high," writes Cindy Cohn, EFF Legal Director.

"For those accused of infringing pornographic movies, many with gay themes, the prospect of being publicly named in a lawsuit is a further reason to settle quickly. Thus, a court’s decision granting leave to issue discovery often gives the plaintiffs in these cases the only remedy they really want: the ability to demand settlements from the Doe defendants."

Getting results

Despite resistance from some defendants, many people do settle. Someone familiar with the Illinois file-sharing cases tells Ars that he has serious doubts about the tech being used by Steele to identify infringers, but he does say that "these cases are remarkably effective in motivating people to settle."

One can get a sense of how many settlements are being racked up by looking through Steele's various court dockets. Occasionally, he will voluntarily dismiss a batch of IP addresses from a suit without apparent reason; these appear to be people who have settled. In his Future Blue v. Does 1-300 lawsuit, for instance, Steele last week withdrew his claims against 15 IP addresses. If each one settled at $2,900 apiece, that's $43,500—not King Midas money, but hardly chump change, either.

Channel Ars Technica