7th Circuit Appears Skeptical of Prenda Law's Appeal

CHICAGO — The 7th U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals today heard the appeal of an order that levied $261,000 in sanctions against the attorneys who filed a copyright infringement case on behalf of Lightspeed Media Corp.

A majority of the three-judge panel of the 7th Circuit — Judges Diane Wood, Michael S. Kanne and Diane Sykes — appeared skeptical of Prenda Law's argument in its appeal.  

Prenda Law, prolific in exacting payments from consumer porn piracy defendants in the past four years, appealed a lower court judge's order that ruled the firm's attorneys, John Steele, Paul Hansmeier and Paul Duffy, filed a meritless case against defendant Anthony Smith.

The case against Smith alleged that he was the ringleader of a hacking gang that was said to have obtained stolen passwords to break into about 40 Lightspeed Media porn sites.

At the behest of Lightspeed Media, Prenda Law made additional claims against corporate executives at AT&T and Comcast Cable Communications that they aided, abetted and conspired with the hacker to steal its content because they refused to comply with subpoenas and turn over subscriber data based on IP addresses.

The firm later added the telecommunications executives as defendants in the suit, seeking $200,000 from all of the defendants, as well as punitive awards.

But after Duffy filed a motion for voluntary dismissal, telling the court that Lightspeed Media intended to drop the suit.

The motion spurred defendants into action with requests for reimbursement of attorneys fees because the suit was based on "frivolous claims," which the lower court later affirmed. Lightspeed Media's attorneys were ordered to pay Smith $72,000, AT&T $120,000 and Comcast $69,000.

At Monday's hearing at the 7th Circuit, attorney Daniel Voelker — representing Steele, Hansmeier and Duffy — was asked to describe the relationship between the three firms that have lodged claims against porn piracy defendents — Prenda Law, Alpha Law and Steele Hansmeier.

"I can't your honor. I don't know, I don't know what it is today; I don't know what it was a year ago," Voelker told the panel. "So I wouldn't want to even begin to tell you because I just don't know."

Sykes, one of the 7th Circuit panelists, responded: "That's shocking. There is a lot of shell game activity here."  

The 7th Circuit did not say when they would rule on the appeal. An audio recording of today's hearing is available here.

Related:  

Copyright © 2024 Adnet Media. All Rights Reserved. XBIZ is a trademark of Adnet Media.
Reproduction in whole or in part in any form or medium without express written permission is prohibited.

More News

Tyler Wu Guests on Chaturbate's 'Sex Tales' Podcast

Tyler Wu is the latest guest on Chaturbate’s “Sex Tales” podcast, hosted by Melissa Stratton and Vanniall on the company’s “Camming Life” YouTube channel.

Fleshy to Launch Interactive Cam Site 'Eremote'

Male pleasure brand Fleshy has announced that it will launch an interactive, bidirectional cam site next month called Eremote.

XBIZ LA Show Introduces New 'Crib Crawl' Feature

XBIZ is pleased to announce that the 2025 edition of its flagship conference, the XBIZ Show, will debut a brand-new feature: Crib Crawl, offering attendees the chance to meet and greet representatives from leading brands and organizations in dedicated suites at the host venue.

Pre-Nominations Now Open for 2025 TEAs

The pre-nomination period for the 2025 Trans Erotica Awards (TEAs) is now open.

Byborg Invests $22.35M in PLBY Group

Luxembourg-based Byborg Enterprises SA is investing $22.35 million in Playboy parent company PLBY Group.

Supreme Court to Hear Oral Arguments on Texas AV Law in January

The United States Supreme Court has scheduled oral arguments for Free Speech Coalition's challenge to Texas’ age verification law to take place Wednesday, Jan. 15.

2025 XBIZ Exec Awards Nominees for Online Industry Announced

XBIZ is pleased to announce the nominees for the online industry edition of the 2025 XBIZ Exec Awards, set to be presented as part of the annual XBIZ Honors ceremony on Wednesday, Jan. 15 in conjunction with the XBIZ 2025 conference.

Project 2025 Leader Claims Big Tech Companies 'Deliberately Fuel Pornography Addiction' Among Men

Heritage Foundation president and Project 2025 leader Kevin Roberts published on Wednesday the text of a speech in which he persists with his past claim that “predatory Big Tech corporations” are “deliberately fueling pornography addiction” among young men.

FSC Petitions 10th Circuit for Review of Utah AV Dismissal

Free Speech Coalition (FSC) on Wednesday petitioned the United States Court of Appeals for the 10th Circuit to review a decision handed down earlier this month by a three-judge panel of the same appeals court, which denied FSC the right to challenge Utah’s controversial age verification law by suing state officials.

MyAdultAttorney's Corey D. Silverstein to Hold Post-Election Legal Impact Webinar

Industry attorney Corey D. Silverstein will hold a “Legal Impact” webinar titled “We Have a New U.S. President: Legal and Community Implications” on Nov. 12 at 1 p.m. PST.

Show More