Some readers may have heard about a recent putative class action lawsuit filed by a Louisville, Kentucky resident against several porn studios for their now-familiar subpoena, threat and litigation tactics. The lawsuit, which is described and linked in full within this article by David Kravets of Wired, makes claims for violations of the federal RICO Act, common law fraud, defamation and other causes of action. The article features commentary from Download Defenders attorney Lory Lybeck.
The named defendants are pornographic film producers Malibu Media, LLC, Patrick Collins, Inc., Raw Films, Ltd., K-Beech, Inc., and Third Degree Films. Some readers may recognize these studios as part of the Lipscomb, Eisenberg and Baker law firm stable. As the class action suit reflects, the Miami-based Lipscomb firm may have pioneered the use of the “complaint in equity for pure bill of discovery,” which relies on an obscure provision of Florida law as the catalyst for issuing ISP subpoenas from mass Doe lawsuits.
It remains to be seen how the filing will impact the ongoing tactics of these companies. Malibu Media in particular has been dealt some recent setbacks in certain New York federal Doe lawsuits, and garned some strict scrutiny in California (via Fight Copyright Trolls). It is reported that Malibu Media, LLC has substantially stepped up its settlement demands as of late, often alleging ten or more infringements against a single IP address or Doe.