Which Lipscomb attorneys stayed with Malibu Media, LLC?

August 31, 2020March 13, 2017 by Rob Cashman (Author, Owner of the Cashman Law Firm, PLLC)

RECAP: MALIBU MEDIA, LLC APPEARS TO BE FOCUSING MOST OF THEIR FUNDS ON THREE OF THEIR ATTORNEYS WHO ARE FILING A MAJORITY OF THE LAWSUITS. THESE LAWSUITS ARE BEING FILED IN THE NEW YORK ‘TRI-STATE’ AREA (NY/NJ/CT) AND TEXAS. BUT, LAWSUITS FOR SOME NOTICEABLE “TERRITORIES” ARE STILL FILED BY OLDER MALIBU ATTORNEYS. I CALL THESE ATTORNEYS MEMBERS OF THE ‘OLD GUARD’.

NOTE: BEFORE READING THIS ARTICLE: If you have not already done so, and you are implicated as a John Doe in a Malibu Media, LLC lawsuit, read these first:
1) “Everything You Need To Know in One Page About Your Malibu Media, LLC (X-Art) Lawsuit [FAQ]“
2) “In-Depth Malibu Media. Their Lawsuits, Their Strategies, and Their Settlements“

FOR IMMEDIATE CONTACT AN ATTORNEY: To set up a free consultation to speak to an attorney about your Malibu Media, LLC lawsuit, click here. Lastly, please feel free to e-mail me at info [at] cashmanlawfirm.com, or call 713-364-3476 to speak to me now about your case (I do prefer you read the articles first), or to get your questions answered.

WHO ARE MEMBERS OF THE ‘OLD GUARD’ ATTORNEYS LOYAL TO MALIBU MEDIA?

There are a few attorneys who stayed loyal to Malibu Media, LLC after they split from Keith Lipscomb. Jackie James, by the way, is one of them, and this is one of the reason she is likely being rewarded by Malibu Media giving her the ability to file over 300+ lawsuits, each lawsuit possibly pulling in $10,000-$25,000 in settlement dollars (of which she likely receives a ‘contingency fee’ in the form of commissions from each settlement). I estimate that in the past year, Jackie has made Malibu Media, LLC $4.5 Million Dollars in settlements, which means that she has likely grossed over $1 Million Dollars in commissions taken from the life savings hard-working New York (and now Connecticut) families in just ONE YEAR alone.

However, as horrible as that is for New York families who have paid settlement amounts to her, Jackie is a superstar for the Malibu Media brand. Malibu Media has most recently allowed her to expand her territory to include all lawsuits in Connecticut, and to date, she has filed 38 cases in ONE MONTH alone.

As much as she apparently has the favor from the Malibu Media, LLC / X-Art copyright holders, there appears to be one state in her corner of the “tri-state” that Jackie has not been able to infiltrate — NEW JERSEY, and I think I know why.

PATRICK CERILLO (NJ)

In New Jersey resides Patrick Cerillo (“Pat Cerillo”), one of the “old guard” of attorneys who were with Malibu Media, LLC since they started filing lawsuits. Pat has his law firm in New Jersey, and to date, he alone has personally filed 14% of all Malibu Media, LLC cases in 2017 (this amounts to 38 cases against John Doe Defendants). So as much as superstar Jackie would no doubt love to take over that lucrative territory, for now, she’s probably locked out of that territory.

Pat’s contact information is being listed here so that you can recognize his name as it is found on the subpoena area of the paperwork you receive from your ISP. It is almost NEVER a good idea to contact your plaintiff attorney directly.
PATRICK JOSEPH CERILLO
4 WALTER FORAN BLVD., SUITE 402
FLEMINGTON, NJ 08822
Email: [email protected]

JON HOPPE (MD)

There is one other name of someone I consider to be one of the upper ranks of the Malibu Media LLC “old guard,” and that is Jon Alexander Hoppe (“Jon Hoppe”).

Jon and I first spoke in March, 2012 when someone (possibly Jon, but my best guess with hindsight, Keith Lipscomb) filed an initial set of Malibu Media, LLC cases using his PACER account. It was this conversation that tipped me off that Lipscomb was likely filing the lawsuits using the PACER accounts of the various local attorneys, because when I first spoke to Jon and sent over a letter of representation for an early Malibu Media, LLC client, he did not even know that he filed my client’s case.

Jon Hoppe has since become one of the upper ranks of the Malibu Media attorneys.

At one point, I understood [from speaking to newer attorneys] that Jon Hoppe was the one “in charge” and “with authority to negotiate settlements for Malibu Media,” even though he had no connection to the lawsuits that were filed by other attorneys in the other states’ federal courts. In sum, Jon Hoppe still maintains control over the Maryland lawsuits, and to date, he has filed only seven (7) lawsuits. This would be a big deal if there were more lawsuits (Jon only filed a mere 3% of all Malibu Media cases filed in 2017), especially since Maryland is so close to Washington, DC where he has his law office.

Jon Hoppe’s information can be found below:
Jon Alexander Hoppe
Law Offices of Jon A. Hoppe, Esquire
1050 Seventeenth Street, NW, Suite 1000
Washington, DC 20036
Email: [email protected]

It would not do justice to end the article here, but that is exactly what I am doing because I have made my point.

SUMMARY

In sum, there are new attorneys who have only recently started filing lawsuits in 2016 and regardless of the high quantity of settlements they ‘extort’ from John Doe Defendants in the Malibu Media, LLC lawsuits, older, more seasoned attorneys who were with Malibu Media, LLC since the beginning (in 2012) still keep their ‘territories’, even if they are not filing as many cases.

Thus, with the Malibu Media, LLC copyright holder, there appears to be an “old guard” and a “new guard” when it comes to ‘into which federal district courts a rising star can file John Doe lawsuits,’ and if there is a member of the “old guard” in place, the “new guard” may not enter his territory.

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FOR MORE INFORMATION ABOUT MALIBU MEDIA, LLC:Again, if you have been implicated as a John Doe defendant in a Malibu Media, LLC lawsuit, there are TWO (2) main articles you should read immediately:

1) “Everything You Need To Know in One Page About Your Malibu Media, LLC (X-Art) Lawsuit [FAQ],” and then
2) “In-Depth Malibu Media. Their Lawsuits, Their Strategies, and Their Settlements.”

FOR IMMEDIATE CONTACT AN ATTORNEY: To set up a free consultation to speak to an attorney about your Malibu Media, LLC lawsuit, click here. Lastly, please feel free to e-mail me at [email protected], or call 713-364-3476 to speak to me now about your case (I do prefer you read the articles first), or to get your questions answered.

CONTACT FORM: Alternatively, sometimes people just like to contact me using one of these forms. If you have a question or comment about what I have written, and you want to keep it *for my eyes only*, please feel free to use the form below. The information you post will be e-mailed to me, and I will be happy to respond.

NOTE: No attorney client relationship is established by sending this form, and while the attorney-client privilege (which keeps everything that you share confidential and private) attaches immediately when you contact me, I do not become your attorney until we sign a contract together. That being said, please do not state anything “incriminating” about your case when using this form, or more practically, in any e-mail.

Cases Filed in the Maryland District Court (7)
Attorney: Jon Alexander Hoppe (“Jon Hoppe”) of the Law Office of Jon a Hoppe, Esquire

Malibu Media, LLC v. Doe (Case No. 8:17-cv-00397)
Malibu Media, LLC v. Doe (Case No. 8:17-cv-00396)
Malibu Media, LLC v. Doe (Case No. 1:17-cv-00402)
Malibu Media, LLC v. Doe (Case No. 8:17-cv-00401)
Malibu Media, LLC v. Doe (Case No. 1:17-cv-00398)
Malibu Media, LLC v. Doe (Case No. 1:17-cv-00399)
Malibu Media, LLC v. Doe (Case No. 8:17-cv-00400)

Cases Filed in the New Jersey District Court (38)
Attorney: Patrick Joseph Cerillo (“Pat Cerillo”)

MALIBU MEDIA , LLC. v. JOHN DOE SUBSCRIBER ASSIGNED IP ADDRESS 24.0.207.93 (Case No. 2:17-cv-01239)
MALIBU MEDIA, LLC v. JOHN DOE (Case No. 2:17-cv-01246)
MALIBU MEDIA, LLC v. JOHN DOE (Case No. 2:17-cv-01251)
MALIBU MEDIA, LLC v. JOHN DOE SUBSCRIBER ASSIGNED IP ADDRESS 100.1.206.172 (Case No. 2:17-cv-01172)
MALIBU MEDIA, LLC v. JOHN DOE SUBSCRIBER ASSIGNED IP ADDRESS 108.167.50 (Case No. 2:17-cv-01185)
MALIBU MEDIA, LLC v. JOHN DOE SUBSCRIBER ASSIGNED IP ADDRESS 108.5.52.134 (Case No. 2:17-cv-01182)
MALIBU MEDIA, LLC v. JOHN DOE SUBSCRIBER ASSIGNED IP ADDRESS 108.53.147.136 (Case No. 2:17-cv-01183)
MALIBU MEDIA, LLC v. JOHN DOE SUBSCRIBER ASSIGNED IP ADDRESS 108.53.252.54 (Case No. 2:17-cv-01193)
MALIBU MEDIA, LLC v. JOHN DOE SUBSCRIBER ASSIGNED IP ADDRESS 173.3.124.255 (Case No. 2:17-cv-01228)
MALIBU MEDIA, LLC v. JOHN DOE SUBSCRIBER ASSIGNED IP ADDRESS 173.3.54.44 (Case No. 2:17-cv-01232)
MALIBU MEDIA, LLC v. JOHN DOE SUBSCRIBER ASSIGNED IP ADDRESS 173.63.249.136 (Case No. 2:17-cv-01233)
MALIBU MEDIA, LLC v. JOHN DOE SUBSCRIBER ASSIGNED IP ADDRESS 173.70.197.251 (Case No. 2:17-cv-01234)
MALIBU MEDIA, LLC v. JOHN DOE SUBSCRIBER ASSIGNED IP ADDRESS 173.70.93.127 (Case No. 2:17-cv-01236)
MALIBU MEDIA, LLC v. JOHN DOE SUBSCRIBER ASSIGNED IP ADDRESS 67.82.37.90 (Case No. 2:17-cv-01252)
MALIBU MEDIA, LLC v. JOHN DOE SUBSCRIBER ASSIGNED IP ADDRESS 67.83.64.114 (Case No. 2:17-cv-01271)
MALIBU MEDIA, LLC v. JOHN DOE SUBSCRIBER ASSIGNED IP ADDRESS 67.83.77.86 (Case No. 2:17-cv-01272)
MALIBU MEDIA, LLC v. JOHN DOE SUBSCRIBER ASSIGNED IP ADDRESS 69.117.66.98 (Case No. 3:17-cv-01261)
MALIBU MEDIA, LLC v. JOHN DOE SUBSCRIBER ASSIGNED IP ADDRESS 69.118.248.215 (Case No. 2:17-cv-01273)
MALIBU MEDIA, LLC v. JOHN DOE SUBSCRIBER ASSIGNED IP ADDRESS 69.122.18.0 (Case No. 2:17-cv-01275)
MALIBU MEDIA, LLC v. JOHN DOE SUBSCRIBER ASSIGNED IP ADDRESS 69.141.237.206 (Case No. 3:17-cv-01262)
MALIBU MEDIA, LLC v. JOHN DOE SUBSCRIBER ASSIGNED IP ADDRESS 72.82.239.77 (Case No. 3:17-cv-01265)
MALIBU MEDIA, LLC v. JOHN DOE SUBSCRIBER ASSIGNED IP ADDRESS 72.88.211.121 (Case No. 2:17-cv-01279)
MALIBU MEDIA, LLC v. JOHN DOE SUBSCRIBER ASSIGNED IP ADDRESS 73.10.138.235 (Case No. 3:17-cv-01266)
MALIBU MEDIA, LLC v. JOHN DOE subscriber assigned IP address 73.199.240.186 (Case No. 3:17-cv-01229)
MALIBU MEDIA, LLC v. JOHN DOE subscriber assigned IP address 96.248.95.37 (Case No. 3:17-cv-01268)
MALIBU MEDIA, LLC v. JOHN DOE SUBSCRIBER IP ADDRESS 108.35.167.198 (Case No. 2:17-cv-01180)
MALIBU MEDIA, LLC v. JOHN DOE SUBSCRIBER IP ADDRESS 108.53.193.228 (Case No. 2:17-cv-01188)
MALIBU MEDIA, LLC v. JOHN DOE, SUBSCRIBER ASSIGNED IP ADDRESS 100.8.116.23 (Case No. 2:17-cv-01179)
MALIBU MEDIA, LLC. v. JOHN DOE (Case No. 2:17-cv-01237)
MALIBU MEDIA, LLC. v. JOHN DOE (Case No. 2:17-cv-01240)
MALIBU MEDIA, LLC. v. JOHN DOE SUBSCRIBER ASSIGNED IP ADDRESS 69.124.120.156 (Case No. 2:17-cv-01276)
MALIBU MEDIA, LLC. v. JOHN DOE SUBSCRIBER ASSIGNED IP ADDRESS 71.172.15.229 (Case No. 2:17-cv-01277)
MALIBU MEDIA, LLC. v. JOHN DOE SUBSCRIBER ASSIGNED IP ADDRESS 73.160.218.175 (Case No. 2:17-cv-01307)
MALIBU MEDIA, LLC. v. JOHN DOE SUBSCRIBER ASSIGNED IP ADDRESS 73.194.168.244 (Case No. 2:17-cv-01310)
MALIBU MEDIA, LLC. v. JOHN DOE SUBSCRIBER ASSIGNED IP ADDRESS 73.197.106.118 (Case No. 2:17-cv-01315)
MALIBU MEDIA, LLC. v. JOHN DOE SUBSCRIBER ASSIGNED IP ADDRESS 73.248.226.136 (Case No. 2:17-cv-01317)
MALIBU MEDIA, LLC. v. JOHN DOE SUBSCRIBER ASSIGNED IP ADDRESS 76.116.108.250 (Case No. 2:17-cv-01319)
MALIBU MEDIA, LLC. v. JOHN DOE SUBSCRIBER ASSIGNED IP ADDRESS 96.57.99.138 (Case No. 2:17-cv-01321)

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CONTACT FORM: If you have a question or comment about what I have written, and you want to keep it *for my eyes only*, please feel free to use the form below. The information you post will be e-mailed to me, and I will be happy to respond.

What else can you tell me about the Malibu Media cases?

[2017 UPDATE:] The best way to learn about Malibu Media, LLC is to read what happened to them as it happened. The list of stories below (in the order I listed them) tell the Malibu Media story in a way that you will understand them.

“Malibu Media, LLC almost went out of business in April, 2016,” on 12/21/2016
[THIS ARTICLE] “Many Malibu Media, LLC lawyers defected; some lawyers remained,” on 3/13/2017
“Which Lipscomb attorneys stayed with Malibu Media, LLC?” on 3/13/2017
“Malibu Media, LLC stops filing copyrights, but they continue filming porn videos… why?,” on 5/10/2017
“Malibu Media, LLC cases are currently facing hard scrutiny in California.” on 12/23/2016
“Judge forces Malibu Media to reveal the accuracy of their geolocation technology,” on 5/10/2017
“Malibu targets the wealthy in their geolocation tracking.” on 6/4/2013
“Why I think Malibu Media is ‘faking’ the ‘publication’ requirement to prove copyright infringement,” on 2/9/2016
“Confirmed: Malibu Media invests $400 filing fees @$20K/month” on 3/13/2017
– “(and how I initially figured out they were on a $20K/mo filing fee budget),” on 12/23/2016
“What are the X-Art adult movies Malibu Media owns? (NSFW),” on 5/5/2017
“How the Cashman Law Firm, PLLC tracks Malibu’s movements,” on 5/4/2017
“How certain defense attorneys are trying to profit from Malibu’s cases (unethically), ” on 3/29/2017
“Is Malibu Media’s Settlement Extortion Scheme Profitable?,” on 12/22/2016
“The ‘Bellwether’ Trial – The ONLY Malibu Media, LLC case to EVER go to trial,” on 6/12/2013
“When Malibu First Started Suing ONE John Doe Defendant per Case,” on 3/7/2013
“My First Opinion of the Malibu Media, LLC cases,” on 3/6/2012

2017 Malibu Media – Which Attorneys Filed Cases and Where?

August 31, 2020March 13, 2017 by Rob Cashman (Author, Owner of the Cashman Law Firm, PLLC)

MALIBU MEDIA, LLC APPEARS TO BE FOCUSING MOST OF THEIR FUNDS ON THREE OF THEIR ATTORNEYS WHO ARE FILING A MAJORITY OF THE LAWSUITS. THESE LAWSUITS ARE BEING FILED IN THE NEW YORK ‘TRI-STATE’ AREA (NY/NJ/CT) AND TEXAS.

If you have not already done so, and you are implicated as a John Doe in a Malibu Media, LLC lawsuit, read these first:
1) “Everything You Need To Know in One Page About Your Malibu Media, LLC (X-Art) Lawsuit [FAQ]”
2) “In-Depth Malibu Media. Their Lawsuits, Their Strategies, and Their Settlements”

[FOR IMMEDIATE CONTACT WITH AN ATTORNEY: Click here for more general information about Malibu Media, LLC lawsuits, their tactics, and their strategies. To set up a free consultation to speak to an attorney about your Malibu Media, LLC lawsuit, click here. Lastly, please feel free to e-mail me at [email protected], or call 713-364-3476 to speak to me now about your case (I do prefer you read the articles first), or to get your questions answered.]

WHICH ATTORNEYS ARE FILING MOST OF THE MALIBU MEDIA, LLC LAWSUITS?

Jacqueline M. James in NY/CT (78), Pat Cerillo in NJ (38) and Andrew Kumar / Michael Lowenberg of the Lowenberg Law Firm in TX (42).

What is the relevance of these three attorneys?

JACQUELINE JAMES (NY, CT)

Jacqueline James (“Jackie”) has been filing lawsuits for Malibu Media, LLC since 2015. She is not one of the “original” copyright trolls (Malibu Media, LLC has been filing lawsuits since 2/20/2012 [based on my first contact with them]). However, Jackie is more than willing to start fights with judges and other attorneys, and she has needed to change how she files her lawsuits and how she interacts with John Doe Defendants and even how she treats other attorneys because she has developed a reputation where the word “harassment” has been thrown around more than a few times.

2018 UPDATE: Jackie James is no longer representing Malibu Media, LLC. While we were opponents on many cases, I did get to know her (as much as was possible). In hindsight, she has always been tough when negotiating a settlement, but she has always been fair (to the extent any of these cases are “fair”). The biggest change in my view of her happened when she stopped representing Malibu Media, LLC. Malibu has many issues, and in my opinion, they suffer from a lack of a moral compass. My view of Jackie changed for the better when I learned that she decided to no longer represent Malibu as their attorney. That was no doubt a lot of “business” to give up, and given the circumstances, she did it in the best way possible. After she left, Kevin Conway happily took over each of her cases, and is now Malibu Media’s NY / CT attorney.

These days, Jackie has taken on Malibu Media LLC’s “sister” as a client — Strike 3 Holdings, LLC. The lawsuits are almost identical to Malibu’s, however, of the two companies, Strike 3 Holdings appears to be run significantly more “ethically” than the Malibu cases are. This is not to say that Strike 3 Holdings, LLC is not engaging in copyright trolling — they are — however, their “tactics” are much more friendly than what I have even heard in recent months since she has stopped representing Malibu Media LLC.

I am listing Jackie’s information here just so you can recognize her name on the subpoena area of the paperwork you receive from your ISP. It is almost NEVER a good idea to contact your plaintiff attorney directly:
Jacqueline M. James
The James Law Firm PPLC
445 Hamilton Avenue
Suite 1102
White Plains, NY 10601
Email: [email protected]
2018 UPDATE: To keep things up to date, I am also now listing Kevin Conway’s information here so that you will recognize his name on the subpoena paperwork. Again, it is never a good idea to speak to the plaintiff attorney directly:
Kevin T. Conway, Esq.
664 Chestnut Ridge Road
Spring Valley, NY 10977
E-mail: [email protected]

ANDREW KUMAR / MICHAEL LOWENBERG (TX)

Andrew Kumar and Michael Lowenberg are a different type of Malibu Media, LLC copyright troll attorneys. Andrew and Mike became one of Malibu Media, LLC’s local counsel at the end of 2016 (“fresh meat,” so to speak), and my best guess is that they were hired by Malibu Media directly, or by Carl Crowell who has taken over the role of managing each and every Malibu Media, LLC lawsuit across the U.S. (I say this because the entity behind Malibu Media, LLC is Guardaley [a german company], and now they are working with Carl Crowell to replace Keith Lipscomb after their relationship with Lipscomb soured in April, 2016). Andrew and Mike both are too “new” to the Malibu Media lawsuits to have gained a reputation yet, but nevertheless, our Texas federal judges have allowed them free reign to file 75+ lawsuits without much of an objection.

2018 UPDATE: It must have been a coincidence that I wrote about both Jackie James (NY) and Andrew Kumar / Michael Lowenberg (TX) in the same article. Likely for the same reasons that Jackie James stopped representing Malibu Media, LLC, I saw similar tensions arising between these two and Malibu Media, LLC as well. Even though I called them on it and asked them what was going on behind the scenes, and although they appeared jaded by what was happening at Malibu, they denied that there was a problem.

Out of nowhere, one day I learned that they too were no longer representing Malibu Media, LLC. In their place is Malibu Media’s new local counsel, Paul Beik. As of updating this article, I do not yet have an opinion of Paul. [05/2019 UPDATE: Now I do have an opinion of Paul Beik.] Beik came in as a Malibu Media, LLC local counsel for our Texas cases after the big changes happened with Malibu Media, LLC. Paul seems to be comfortable with the new “rules” and this is not a positive for him, as Malibu Media, LLC has gotten a lot worse over the last few months.

Andrew and Mike’s contact information is being listed here so that you can recognize their names as it they found on the subpoena area of the paperwork you receive from your ISP (you will usually find one name, or the other). Again — it is almost NEVER a good idea to contact your plaintiff attorney directly.
Andrew Darshan Kumar
Michael J. Lowenberg
Lowenberg Law Firm
7941 Katy Fwy., #306
Houston, TX 77024
Email: [email protected]
Paul Beik’s contact information is being listed here so that you can recognize his name as it is found on the subpoena area of the paperwork you receive from your ISP.
Paul S. Beik
Beik Law Firm, PLLC
8100 Washington Avenue, Suite 1000
Houston, Texas 77007
E-mail: [email protected]

WHY ISN’T JACKIE JAMES FILING THE NEW JERSEY MALIBU MEDIA CASES?

Although Jacqueline James and Andrew Kumar / Mike Lowenberg (and now Paul Beik) each belong to a “new generation” of Malibu Media, LLC copyright infringement attorneys (“copyright trolls”), there are still a set of OLDER, MORE EXPERIENCED MALIBU MEDIA, LLC ATTORNEYS (I call them the “OLD GUARD”), some of whom stayed loyal to Malibu Media, LLC when their relationship with Lipscomb went sour. In New Jersey, Patrick Cerillo (or, “Pat Cerillo”) is one of those older attorneys who remained loyal to Malibu Media, LLC.

PATRICK CERILLO (NJ)

Patrick J. Cerillo is one of the “old guard” of attorneys who stayed loyal to Malibu Media, LLC after they split from Keith Lipscomb. He resides in New Jersey. So as much as Jackie James would no doubt love to take over the New Jersey Malibu Media, LLC cases, for now, Pat Cerillo has a “lock” on that territory.

Patrick’s contact information is being listed here so that you can recognize his name as it is found on the subpoena area of the paperwork you receive from your ISP. Again — it is almost NEVER a good idea to contact your plaintiff attorney directly.

PATRICK JOSEPH CERILLO
4 WALTER FORAN BLVD., SUITE 402
FLEMINGTON, NJ 08822
Email: [email protected]

Why is me being licensed in New York relevant to you?

Because these courts are in my home turf. Before moving our Cashman Law Firm, PLLC lawfirm to Houston, TX in 2010, I was (and continue to be) licensed to practice law in New York. I grew up in New York, I went to law school in New York, I know many federal judges in New York, and I understand the way the federal courts operate in that state. I have lived in both New York and New Jersey most of my life, and the “tri-state area” (NY/NJ/CT) is where I have most of my legal contacts.

Why is me being licensed in Texas relevant to you?

Because as of 2010, we moved our Cashman Law Firm, PLLC practice to Houston, TX. Since we opened our doors, we have practiced *ALMOST EXCLUSIVELY* in federal court practice. I took the bar exam here, I have represented possibly hundreds of clients here in Texas exclusively for bittorrent-based copyright infringement lawsuits, and again, I know the federal judges here, how their courts operate, and this is my home turf.

What else can you tell me about the Malibu Media cases?

The best way to learn about Malibu Media, LLC is to read what happened to them as it happened. The list of stories below (in the order I listed them) tell the Malibu Media story in a way that you will understand them.

“Malibu Media, LLC almost went out of business in April, 2016,” on 12/21/2016
“Many Malibu Media, LLC lawyers defected; some lawyers remained,” on 3/13/2017
“Which Lipscomb attorneys stayed with Malibu Media, LLC?” on 3/13/2017
“Malibu Media, LLC stops filing copyrights, but they continue filming porn videos… why?,” on 5/10/2017
“Malibu Media, LLC cases are currently facing hard scrutiny in California.” on 12/23/2016
“Judge forces Malibu Media to reveal the accuracy of their geolocation technology,” on 5/10/2017
“Malibu targets the wealthy in their geolocation tracking.” on 6/4/2013
“Why I think Malibu Media is ‘faking’ the ‘publication’ requirement to prove copyright infringement,” on 2/9/2016
“Confirmed: Malibu Media invests $400 filing fees @$20K/month” on 3/13/2017
– “(and how I initially figured out they were on a $20K/mo filing fee budget),” on 12/23/2016
“What are the X-Art adult movies Malibu Media owns? (NSFW),” on 5/5/2017
“How the Cashman Law Firm, PLLC tracks Malibu’s movements,” on 5/4/2017
“How certain defense attorneys are trying to profit from Malibu’s cases (unethically), ” on 3/29/2017
“Is Malibu Media’s Settlement Extortion Scheme Profitable?,” on 12/22/2016
“The ‘Bellwether’ Trial – The ONLY Malibu Media, LLC case to EVER go to trial,” on 6/12/2013
“When Malibu First Started Suing ONE John Doe Defendant per Case,” on 3/7/2013
“My First Opinion of the Malibu Media, LLC cases,” on 3/6/2012

SUMMARY

There is obviously more to go into, specifically about the topic of Malibu Media LLC’s “old guard” (veteran attorneys, some from 2012), and the “new guard” (new attorneys hired slightly before or after the relationship between Malibu Media and Keith Lipscomb soured. Also, I will shortly be posting a follow-up analysis confirming the initial research that Malibu Media, LLC is on a $20,000/month budget.

For the purposes of this e-mail, Malibu Media is allocating their money to split the new cases among the NY/NJ/CT Tri-State area, and Texas.

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FOR MORE INFORMATION ABOUT MALIBU MEDIA, LLC: Click here for more general information about Malibu Media, LLC lawsuits, their tactics, and their strategies.

FOR IMMEDIATE CONTACT AN ATTORNEY: To set up a free consultation to speak to an attorney about your Malibu Media, LLC lawsuit, click here. Lastly, please feel free to e-mail me at [email protected], or call 713-364-3476 to speak to me now about your case (I do prefer you read the articles first), or to get your questions answered.

Here is the breakdown of Malibu Media, LLC cases filed THIS YEAR, 2017! (sorted by attorney/quantity):

Attorney Jackie James Filed Cases (28%)
Connecticut (38 Cases)
New York (40 Cases)

Attorneys Andrew Kumar & Michael Lowenberg Filed Cases (16%)
Texas (42 Cases)

Attorney Pat Cerillo Filed Cases (14%)
New Jersey (38 Cases)

Attorney Joel Bernier Filed Cases (6%)
Michigan (MIED) (16 Cases)

Attorney Mary Schulz Filed Cases (4%)
Illinois (ILND) (12 Cases)

Attorney Jon Hoppe Filed Cases (3%)
Maryland (7 Cases)

Attorney Jordan Rushie Filed Cases (3%)
Pennsylvania (PAED) (8 Cases)

Attorney John Decker Filed Cases (1%)
Virginia (VAED) (3 Cases)

LIST OF MALIBU CASES FILED TO DATE (2017 CASES ONLY)

Cases in the Connecticut District Court (38)
Attorney: Jacqueline M. James (“Jackie James”) of The James Law Firm, PPLC

Malibu Media, LLC v. Doe (Case No. 3:17-cv-00187)
Malibu Media, LLC v. Doe (Case No. 3:17-cv-00188)
Malibu Media, LLC v. Doe (Case No. 3:17-cv-00189)
Malibu Media, LLC v. Doe (Case No. 3:17-cv-00190)
Malibu Media, LLC v. Doe (Case No. 3:17-cv-00195)
Malibu Media, LLC v. Doe (Case No. 3:17-cv-00203)
Malibu Media, LLC v. Doe (Case No. 3:17-cv-00213)
Malibu Media, LLC v. Doe (Case No. 3:17-cv-00219)
Malibu Media, LLC v. Doe (Case No. 3:17-cv-00220)
Malibu Media, LLC v. Doe (Case No. 3:17-cv-00221)
Malibu Media, LLC v. Doe (Case No. 3:17-cv-00223)
Malibu Media, LLC v. Doe (Case No. 3:17-cv-00224)
Malibu Media, LLC v. Doe (Case No. 3:17-cv-00225)
Malibu Media, LLC v. Doe (Case No. 3:17-cv-00227)
Malibu Media, LLC v. Doe (Case No. 3:17-cv-00229)
Malibu Media, LLC v. Doe (Case No. 3:17-cv-00230)
Malibu Media, LLC v. Doe (Case No. 3:17-cv-00232)
Malibu Media, LLC v. Doe (Case No. 3:17-cv-00233)
Malibu Media, LLC v. Doe (Case No. 3:17-cv-00249)
Malibu Media, LLC v. Doe (Case No. 3:17-cv-00250)
Malibu Media, LLC v. Doe (Case No. 3:17-cv-00251)
Malibu Media, LLC v. Doe (Case No. 3:17-cv-00252)
Malibu Media, LLC v. Doe (Case No. 3:17-cv-00253)
Malibu Media, LLC v. Doe (Case No. 3:17-cv-00254)
Malibu Media, LLC v. Doe (Case No. 3:17-cv-00256)
Malibu Media, LLC v. Doe (Case No. 3:17-cv-00257)
Malibu Media, LLC v. Doe (Case No. 3:17-cv-00258)
Malibu Media, LLC v. Doe (Case No. 3:17-cv-00259)
Malibu Media, LLC v. Doe (Case No. 3:17-cv-00271)
Malibu Media, LLC v. Doe (Case No. 3:17-cv-00272)
Malibu Media, LLC v. Doe (Case No. 3:17-cv-00273)
Malibu Media, LLC v. Doe (Case No. 3:17-cv-00274)
Malibu Media, LLC v. Doe (Case No. 3:17-cv-00275)
Malibu Media, LLC v. Doe (Case No. 3:17-cv-00276)
Malibu Media, LLC v. Doe (Case No. 3:17-cv-00277)
Malibu Media, LLC v. Doe (Case No. 3:17-cv-00278)
Malibu Media, LLC v. Doe (Case No. 3:17-cv-00279)
Malibu Media, LLC v. Doe (Case No. 3:17-cv-00280)

Cases Filed in the Illinois Northern District Court (12)
Attorney: Mary K. Schulz of the Media Litigation Firm, P.C.

Malibu Media, LLC v. Doe, subscriber assigned IP address 208.59.138.51 (Case No. 1:17-cv-01183)
Malibu Media, LLC v. Doe, subscriber assigned IP address 24.14.89.147 (Case No. 1:17-cv-01190)
Malibu Media, LLC v. Doe, subscriber assigned IP address 50.172.197.139 (Case No. 1:17-cv-01195)
Malibu Media, LLC v. Doe, subscriber assigned IP address 67.175.128.50 (Case No. 1:17-cv-01196)
Malibu Media, LLC v. Doe, subscriber assigned IP address 73.168.198.228 (Case No. 1:17-cv-01197)
Malibu Media, LLC v. Doe, subscriber assigned IP address 73.74.242.152 (Case No. 1:17-cv-01200)
Malibu Media, LLC v. Doe, subscriber assigned IP address 75.27.62.75 (Case No. 1:17-cv-01201)
Malibu Media, LLC v. Doe, subscriber assigned IP address 75.28.181.87 (Case No. 1:17-cv-01202)
Malibu Media, LLC v. Doe, subscriber assigned IP address 76.231.75.139 (Case No. 1:17-cv-01206)
Malibu Media, LLC v. Doe, subscriber assigned IP address 98.206.219.205 (Case No. 1:17-cv-01210)
Malibu Media, LLC v. Doe, subscriber assigned IP address 98.227.75.40 (Case No. 1:17-cv-01396)
Malibu Media, LLC v. Doe, subscriber assigned IP address96.95.112.34 (Case No. 1:17-cv-01209)

Cases Filed in the Maryland District Court (7)
Attorney: Jon Alexander Hoppe (“Jon Hoppe”) of the Law Office of Jon a Hoppe, Esquire

Cases Filed in the Michigan Eastern District Court (16)
Attorney: Joel A. Bernier of Sheikh Legal Services PLLC
176 S. Main St., Suite 1, Mount Clemens, MI 48043 ([email protected])

MALIBU MEDIA, LCC v. John Doe (Case No. 2:17-cv-10422)
MALIBU MEDIA, LCC v. JOHN DOE subscriber assigned IP ) Address 107.4.109.143 (Case No. 2:17-cv-10426)
MALIBU MEDIA, LCC v. JOHN DOE subscriber assigned IP ) Address 107.4.109.143 (Case No. 5:17-cv-10426)
MALIBU MEDIA, LCC v. JOHN DOE subscriber assigned IP Address 68.32.2.28 (Case No. 2:17-cv-10432)
MALIBU MEDIA, LCC v. JOHN DOE subscriber assigned IP Address 68.49.201.228 (Case No. 2:17-cv-10442)
MALIBU MEDIA, LCC v. JOHN DOE subscriber assigned IP Address 68.49.243.199 (Case No. 2:17-cv-10443)
MALIBU MEDIA, LCC v. JOHN DOE subscriber assigned IP Address 68.49.243.199 (Case No. 2:17-cv-10445)
MALIBU MEDIA, LCC v. JOHN DOE subscriber assigned IP Address 68.55.89.28 (Case No. 2:17-cv-10444)
MALIBU MEDIA, LCC v. JOHN DOE subscriber assigned IP Address 68.55.89.28 (Case No. 4:17-cv-10444)
MALIBU MEDIA, LCC v. JOHN DOE subscriber assigned IP Address 68.56.223.52 (Case No. 2:17-cv-10446)
MALIBU MEDIA, LCC v. JOHN DOE subscriber assigned IP Address 68.56.223.52 (Case No. 2:17-cv-10447)
MALIBU MEDIA, LCC v. JOHN DOE subscriber assigned IP Address 68.60.174.21 (Case No. 2:17-cv-10448)
MALIBU MEDIA, LCC v. JOHN DOE subscriber assigned IP Address 98.209.250.195 (Case No. 2:17-cv-10449)
MALIBU MEDIA, LCC v. JOHN DOE subscriber assigned IP Address 98.224.223.170 (Case No. 2:17-cv-10450)
MALIBU MEDIA, LCC v. JOHN DOE subscriber assigned IP Address 99.37.173.71 (Case No. 2:17-cv-10451)
MALIBU MEDIA, LLC v. JOHN DOE subscriber assigned IP Address 68.40.27.99 (Case No. 2:17-cv-10441)

Cases Filed in the New Jersey District Court (38)
Attorney: Patrick Joseph Cerillo (“Pat Cerillo”)

Cases Filed in the New York Eastern District Court (10)
Attorney: Jacqueline M. James (“Jackie James”) of The James Law Firm, PPLC

Malibu Media, LLC v. DOE (Case No. 2:17-cv-01079)
Malibu Media, LLC v. DOE (Case No. 2:17-cv-01078)
Malibu Media, LLC v. DOE (Case No. 2:17-cv-01084)
Malibu Media, LLC v. DOE (Case No. 2:17-cv-01077)
Malibu Media, LLC v. DOE (Case No. 2:17-cv-01083)
Malibu Media, LLC v. DOE (Case No. 2:17-cv-01076)
Malibu Media, LLC v. DOE (Case No. 2:17-cv-01081)
Malibu Media, LLC v. DOE (Case No. 2:17-cv-01080)
Malibu Media, LLC v. DOE (Case No. 2:17-cv-01075)
Malibu Media, LLC v. DOE (Case No. 2:17-cv-01082)

Cases Filed in the New York Southern District Court (30)
Attorney: Jacqueline M. James (“Jackie James”) of The James Law Firm, PPLC

Malibu Media, LLC v. Doe (Case No. 1:17-cv-00983)
Malibu Media, LLC v. Doe (Case No. 1:17-cv-00985)
Malibu Media, LLC v. Doe (Case No. 1:17-cv-00987)
Malibu Media, LLC v. Doe (Case No. 1:17-cv-00988)
Malibu Media, LLC v. Doe (Case No. 1:17-cv-00989)
Malibu Media, LLC v. Doe (Case No. 1:17-cv-00992)
Malibu Media, LLC v. Doe (Case No. 1:17-cv-00994)
Malibu Media, LLC v. Doe (Case No. 1:17-cv-00995)
Malibu Media, LLC v. Doe (Case No. 1:17-cv-01065)
Malibu Media, LLC v. Doe (Case No. 1:17-cv-01067)
Malibu Media, LLC v. Doe (Case No. 1:17-cv-01068)
Malibu Media, LLC v. Doe (Case No. 1:17-cv-01069)
Malibu Media, LLC v. Doe (Case No. 1:17-cv-01070)
Malibu Media, LLC v. Doe (Case No. 1:17-cv-01072)
Malibu Media, LLC v. Doe (Case No. 1:17-cv-01074)
Malibu Media, LLC v. Doe (Case No. 1:17-cv-01075)
Malibu Media, LLC v. Doe (Case No. 1:17-cv-01076)
Malibu Media, LLC v. Doe (Case No. 1:17-cv-01078)
Malibu Media, LLC v. Doe (Case No. 1:17-cv-01088)
Malibu Media, LLC v. Doe (Case No. 1:17-cv-01094)
Malibu Media, LLC v. Doe (Case No. 1:17-cv-01095)
Malibu Media, LLC v. Doe (Case No. 1:17-cv-01096)
Malibu Media, LLC v. Doe (Case No. 1:17-cv-01097)
Malibu Media, LLC v. Doe (Case No. 1:17-cv-01098)
Malibu Media, LLC v. Doe (Case No. 1:17-cv-01099)
Malibu Media, LLC v. Doe (Case No. 1:17-cv-01100)
Malibu Media, LLC v. Doe (Case No. 1:17-cv-01101)
Malibu Media, LLC v. Doe (Case No. 1:17-cv-01102)
Malibu Media, LLC v. Doe (Case No. 7:17-cv-00981)
Malibu Media, LLC v. Doe (Case No. 7:17-cv-00982)

Cases Filed in the Pennsylvania Eastern District Court (8)
Attorney: A. Jordan Rushie (“Jordan Rushie”) of Flynn Wirkus Young PC / Rushie Law

MALIBU MEDIA, LLC v. JOHN DOE (Case No. 2:17-cv-00662)
MALIBU MEDIA, LLC v. DOE (Case No. 2:17-cv-00509)
MALIBU MEDIA, LLC v. DOE (Case No. 2:17-cv-00506)
MALIBU MEDIA, LLC v. JOHN DOE (Case No. 2:17-cv-00510)
MALIBU MEDIA, LLC v. JOHN DOE (Case No. 2:17-cv-00508)
MALIBU MEDIA, LLC v. JOHN DOE (Case No. 2:17-cv-00507)
MALIBU MEDIA, LLC v. JOHN DOE (Case No. 2:17-cv-00512)
MALIBU MEDIA, LLC v. JOHN DOE (Case No. 2:17-cv-00511)

Cases Filed in the Texas Southern District Court (42)
Attorney: Andrew Darshan Kumar (“Andrew Kumar”) and Michael J. Lowenberg (“Mike Lowenberg”) of the Lowenberg Law Firm

Malibu Media, LLC v. Doe (Case No. 4:17-cv-00413)
Malibu Media, LLC v. Doe (Case No. 4:17-cv-00415)
Malibu Media, LLC v. Doe (Case No. 4:17-cv-00417)
Malibu Media, LLC v. Doe (Case No. 4:17-cv-00418)
Malibu Media, LLC v. Doe (Case No. 4:17-cv-00420)
Malibu Media, LLC v. Doe (Case No. 4:17-cv-00421)
Malibu Media, LLC v. DOE (Case No. 4:17-cv-00422)
Malibu Media, LLC v. Doe (Case No. 4:17-cv-00423)
Malibu Media, LLC v. Doe (Case No. 4:17-cv-00424)
Malibu Media, LLC v. Doe (Case No. 4:17-cv-00425)
Malibu Media, LLC v. Doe (Case No. 4:17-cv-00465)
Malibu Media, LLC v. Doe (Case No. 4:17-cv-00466)
Malibu Media, LLC v. Doe (Case No. 4:17-cv-00468)
Malibu Media, LLC v. Doe (Case No. 4:17-cv-00469)
Malibu Media, LLC v. Doe (Case No. 4:17-cv-00470)
Malibu Media, LLC v. Doe (Case No. 4:17-cv-00471)
Malibu Media, LLC v. Doe (Case No. 4:17-cv-00472)
Malibu Media, LLC v. Doe (Case No. 4:17-cv-00473)
Malibu Media, LLC v. Doe (Case No. 4:17-cv-00474)
Malibu Media, LLC v. Doe (Case No. 4:17-cv-00475)
Malibu Media, LLC v. Doe (Case No. 4:17-cv-00476)
Malibu Media, LLC v. DOE (Case No. 4:17-cv-00477)
Malibu Media, LLC v. Doe (Case No. 4:17-cv-00478)
Malibu Media, LLC v. Doe (Case No. 4:17-cv-00479)
Malibu Media, LLC v. Doe (Case No. 4:17-cv-00480)
Malibu Media, LLC v. DOE (Case No. 4:17-cv-00481)
Malibu Media, LLC v. Doe (Case No. 4:17-cv-00482)
Malibu Media, LLC v. DOE (Case No. 4:17-cv-00483)
Malibu Media, LLC v. Doe (Case No. 4:17-cv-00484)
Malibu Media, LLC v. Doe (Case No. 4:17-cv-00485)
Malibu Media, LLC v. DOE (Case No. 4:17-cv-00486)
Malibu Media, LLC v. Doe (Case No. 4:17-cv-00487)
Malibu Media, LLC v. Doe (Case No. 4:17-cv-00488)
Malibu Media, LLC v. DOE (Case No. 4:17-cv-00489)
Malibu Media, LLC v. Doe (Case No. 4:17-cv-00490)
Malibu Media, LLC v. Doe (Case No. 4:17-cv-00491)
Malibu Media, LLC v. DOE (Case No. 4:17-cv-00492)
Malibu Media, LLC v. Doe (Case No. 4:17-cv-00493)
Malibu Media, LLC v. DOE (Case No. 4:17-cv-00494)
Malibu Media, LLC v. Doe (Case No. 4:17-cv-00495)
Malibu Media, LLC v. Doe (Case No. 4:17-cv-00497)
Malibu Media, LLC v. DOE (Case No. 4:17-cv-00498)

Cases Filed in the Virginia Eastern District Court (3)
Attorney: John Carlin Decker, II (“John Decker”) of the Law Office of John C. Decker II
5207 Dalby Lane, Burke, VA 22015 (John is still using his Verizon e-mail when he files the lawsuits — [email protected])

Malibu Media, LLC v. Doe (Case No. 1:17-cv-00192)
Malibu Media, LLC v. Doe (Case No. 1:17-cv-00193)
Malibu Media, LLC v. Doe (Case No. 1:17-cv-00194)

What else can you tell me about the Malibu Media cases?

[2017 UPDATE] The best way to learn about Malibu Media, LLC is to read what happened to them as it happened. The list of stories below (in the order I listed them) tell the Malibu Media story in a way that you will understand them.

“Malibu Media, LLC almost went out of business in April, 2016,” on 12/21/2016
“Many Malibu Media, LLC lawyers defected; some lawyers remained,” on 3/13/2017
[THIS ARTICLE] “Which Lipscomb attorneys stayed with Malibu Media, LLC?” on 3/13/2017
“Malibu Media, LLC stops filing copyrights, but they continue filming porn videos… why?,” on 5/10/2017
“Malibu Media, LLC cases are currently facing hard scrutiny in California.” on 12/23/2016
“Judge forces Malibu Media to reveal the accuracy of their geolocation technology,” on 5/10/2017
“Malibu targets the wealthy in their geolocation tracking.” on 6/4/2013
“Why I think Malibu Media is ‘faking’ the ‘publication’ requirement to prove copyright infringement,” on 2/9/2016
“Confirmed: Malibu Media invests $400 filing fees @$20K/month” on 3/13/2017
– “(and how I initially figured out they were on a $20K/mo filing fee budget),” on 12/23/2016
“What are the X-Art adult movies Malibu Media owns? (NSFW),” on 5/5/2017
“How the Cashman Law Firm, PLLC tracks Malibu’s movements,” on 5/4/2017
“How certain defense attorneys are trying to profit from Malibu’s cases (unethically), ” on 3/29/2017
“Is Malibu Media’s Settlement Extortion Scheme Profitable?,” on 12/22/2016
“The ‘Bellwether’ Trial – The ONLY Malibu Media, LLC case to EVER go to trial,” on 6/12/2013
“When Malibu First Started Suing ONE John Doe Defendant per Case,” on 3/7/2013
“My First Opinion of the Malibu Media, LLC cases,” on 3/6/2012

1) “Everything You Need To Know in One Page About Your Malibu Media, LLC (X-Art) Lawsuit [FAQ],” and then
2) “In-Depth Malibu Media. Their Lawsuits, Their Strategies, and Their Settlements.”

FOR IMMEDIATE CONTACT WITH AN ATTORNEY: To set up a free consultation to speak to an attorney about your Malibu Media, LLC lawsuit, click here. Lastly, please feel free to e-mail me at info[at] cashmanlawfirm.com, or call 713-364-3476 to speak to me now about your case (I do prefer you read the articles first), or to get your questions answered.

ME2 Productions Inc. Subpoenas FAQ | What You Need to Know

April 7, 2017March 3, 2017 by Rob Cashman (Author, Owner of the Cashman Law Firm, PLLC)

UT ME2 Productions | Utah ME2 Settlement Letters Sent by Todd Zenger

While our law firm represents ME2 Productions, Inc. defendants as clients in a number of states (specifically, those states in which we can ‘pro hac’ into and represent a defendant should settlement negotiations go awry), I simply cannot track every single bittorrent-based lawsuit that is filed across the U.S. However, I do know of subpoenas received by John Doe Defendants in a number of cases are due today.

This article should be a simplistic “what do I do” article. Nothing new will be introduced here for those of you who have read my blog in the past. At best, this will be a quick refresher of what happens at the pretrial stages of a copyright infringement lawsuit before a John Doe Defendant is named and served.

Because I am neck deep in cases, instead of writing out this article, I am dictating it into a recorder and am paying someone to transcribe it for me. Thus, pardon the conversational tone. This is really the way I speak.

[Lastly, some of you have e-mailed me asking why I am only making 2-3 time slots available each day on the https://www.torrentlawyer.com/calendar/ scheduling site when there are literally hundreds of John Does affected by these lawsuits. The simple reason is because I am managing the firm’s inflow of clients (I will not take every client I speak to, but I will hold your hand until you find an attorney), and I do not believe in flooding our firm with 100+ new clients for one copyright holder and treating them all the same way in a turn-key fashion. I used to think that this could save our clients money, but my experience after representing clients is that if I am able to take each client separately and negotiate each client the best I can, I am often able to get the client released from liability without paying any settlement (if the client did not do the download), and if they did the download, I am able to negotiate significantly lower settlements when I handle client circumstances individually rather than as a group.]

ME2 LAWSUIT SUBPOENA Q&A:

Question: “I received a subpoena from my ISP about the ME2 Productions, Inc. v. Does lawsuit. What do I do?”

Answer: Chances are the lawsuit was filed in the state in which you live. If you live outside of the state in which you were sued, that federal court likely does not have “personal jurisdiction” over you. For circumstances like this, you may consider filing a motion to quash.

SHOULD I FILE A MOTION TO QUASH?

Question: “Should I file a motion to quash even though I have been sued and I live in the state?”

Answer: If you file the motion to quash, the court will set a hearing in order to determine whether they have personal jurisdiction over you. The judge will ask whether you live in the state. If the answer is “yes,” then motion to quash will likely be denied. I’m simplifying, but this is the point.

NOTE: For accuracy, you were not sued. You are at this point merely implicated as a “John Doe” Defendant, which means that your Comcast ISP (or whatever ISP you have) has identified you as being the account holder who was assigned an IP Address (e.g., 123.848.245.163), and that IP Address was ‘seen’ or ‘caught’ participating in a bittorrent swarm where the download allegedly happened.

Question: “ABC Lawyer told me that even if I live in the state where I was sued, I can still hire an attorney who will file a motion to quash for me for $2,500 where he will expose the copyright trolls’ scam and maybe cause the judge to dismiss the case. Should I pay for one of these?”

Answer: The motion to quash is not the proper place to raise issues relating to the actions of the copyright holders. Filing long-winded motions to quash will simply prompt the judge to ask, “yes or no, does your client live in this state?” When the answer is yes and your lawyer turns to you and informs you that “your motion to quash failed,” you’ll realize that you wasted your money.

There are other procedural times to fight your case, especially if you did not do the download. Fighting your case in the motion to quash is generally a really bad idea.

Question: “Who cares if I was ‘seen’ downloading? Doesn’t everyone use bittorrent anyway? Why is this illegal?”

Answer: The short answer is that downloading and piracy is socially acceptable as a ‘tolerable evil’, but it is still nevertheless illegal. It took me a few tries to answer this question, and in trying, the following two blog articles came of it:

1. ‘The boot of government crushes the skull of its citizen’ when it comes to encryption and anonymity, and

2. The Evolution of Piracy and the ‘coincidence’ that early copyright cases were rooted in pornography-based content.

In sum, copyright holders are finicky about whether, how, and in which way they will allow their copyrighted film to be shown. Copyright law, as encoded in 17 US Code § 106 describes a number of exclusive rights given to a copyright holder (which means that the copyright holder is given authority to legally sue and destroy the financial futures of anyone who violate and/or infringe those rights). Of those exclusive rights (the right to make copies (download), the right to distribute copies (share/upload), the right to display (stream), if any of these are infringed, the copyright holders get antsy because each violation of these rights stops them from being able to profit from the movie (or ‘work’) they created.

The peer-to-peer networks have been a source of angst for the copyright holders because until now, each of these ‘exclusive rights’ are taken out from the control of the copyright holder, and are given to the internet users. When movies are listed on a bittorrent website and are downloaded, the copyright holders do not profit from the piracy, and while there has been some considerable debate of whether movie companies actually lose money from piracy (I am on the side that their ticket and DVD sales and licensing fees are hurt by piracy, but the damage is not as exaggerated as they claim it to be), but as a result of the loss (perceived or not, real or not), today copyright holders to consider it ethical to sue end user downloaders for the full $150,000 statutory damages for the download of one movie.

My opinion is that suing downloaders is misguided solution to the piracy problem, and that a better solution would be either compulsory licensing from the ISP, or simply providing better competitive solutions to give internet users the ability to PAY for access to cable TV and traditional TV networks (without paying the inflated cable bill prices they are still trying to charge).

Question: “Before Comcast hands out my information, am I still anonymous? If as a John Doe I am not yet a defendant in the case, at what point do I become a defendant?”

At this point, your plaintiff attorney does not have your name, and neither does the court. At this point, you are also still anonymous, which means that other than the filing fee, the plaintiff attorney has not yet spent any money or time investigating you or your involvement in the lawsuit.

You do not become a defendant until you are ‘named and served.’ This would happen later on in the lawsuit after the plaintiff copyright attorney tries to 1) convince you to settle, or 2) they are unable to contact you, or 3) they have formed a belief that you (the ISP subscriber) are the downloader.

Once someone knocks on your door and serves you with a copy of the complaint (or once you are served by a number of other methods), only then do you become a defendant in the lawsuit.

IS COMCAST (OR MY ISP) FORCED TO COMPLY WITH THE SUBPOENA?

Question: “Can I call Comcast (or my ISP) and tell them I object to them sending out my information? Isn’t giving out my information a crime?”

Answer: Comcast is under a duty to comply with the subpoena, which was ordered and signed by the federal judge for your case. The ISP can and does often ignore the deadline set by the attorney in the subpoena sent to the ISP [they comply whenever they decide to comply, and if the plaintiff attorneys don’t like it, they can sue them or bring them into court, but they almost never do], but the ISPs almost always comply.

Even if you call your ISP and complain, and even if you object to them sending out your information, they will tell you that they must comply and that they WILL comply unless you file an objection with the court. This objection is the motion to quash we discussed before.

There was a time when these bittorrent-based ‘copyright troll’ lawsuits were new (back in 2010), and there was a time that I researched whether a subscriber can sue his ISP for sharing his information with the copyright holders over his objection. I even considered representing John Doe Defendants at the time as a class action lawsuit against the ISPs, however, the case law was horrible, and the damages weren’t worth the time or money the clients would have paid in order to sue their ISPs.

100% ANONYMOUS SETTLEMENTS BEFORE ISP COMPLIES WITH SUBPOENA?

Question: “Should I have my attorney contact the plaintiff attorney before he gets my identity from my ISP? Can I settle with the plaintiff attorney and stop my Comcast ISP from divulging my identity to the plaintiff attorney?”

Answer: Generally, this is not required. I have had circumstances that the defendant ABSOLUTELY wanted to keep his involvement in a lawsuit ANONYMOUS, and in cases such as this one [where the defendant had something to lose if the plaintiff attorney learned his identity], then yes, I could negotiate a 100% anonymous settlement before the ISP hands out the John Doe’s information to the plaintiff attorney. I can even stop the ISP from complying with the subpoena. How??

I have been successful asking various plaintiff attorneys to write or transmit a letter to the ISP and cancel the subpoena as to that particular John Doe Defendant, and both the paid attorney and the ISP happily complied, and my client remained 100% anonymous. Win-win. The client remained anonymous, the ISP had one fewer infringement file to take care of, and the pocket-filled plaintiff attorney saved an extra few bucks because he did not have to pay the ISP for the IP address lookup for that John Doe Defendant (sometimes ISP charge plaintiff attorneys large sums of money to lookup and handle the files of each of the John Doe Defendants).

However, one thing that is LOST when negotiating BEFORE the ISP hands over your information is LEVERAGE. If the John Doe approaches the attorney asking to be anonymous, the plaintiff will want to know, “what does he have to hide?” In addition, because any anonymous negotiations will arouse suspicion in the eyes of the plaintiff attorney, they might be less willing to negotiate down the price in a settlement negotiation when they sense that the other side has something to lose by having their name exposed to him/her. We can still do the settlements anonymously and clients still do request this, but be aware that leverage is lost when premature negotiations are made, and thus the cost of the settlement to the copyright holder may be higher than the ordinary negotiation.

WHAT HAPPENS AFTER COMCAST COMPLIES WITH THE SUBPOENA?

Question: “Do I become a defendant in the case after my ISP complies with the subpoena and hands out my information to the plaintiff attorney?”

Answer: Again, no. As far as the court is concerned (and as far as the world is concerned), nobody except you, your ISP, your attorney, and the plaintiff attorney know your name. Robots and spiders who like to ‘spider’ legal sites and post information on the parties of the cases also cannot know who you are, even after the ISP complies with the subpoena.

Rather, when the ISP complies with the subpoena, likely, they will send over a spreadsheet 10-20 lines long (depending on how many John Doe Defendants there are in the case), and you will be one of those ‘lines’ on the spreadsheet. The plaintiff will learn who you are, but you will remain an anonymous John Doe Defendant until the plaintiff attorney decides to name and serve you.

When the plaintiff attorney receives the list of names and contact information for each John Doe Defendant, he will separate that pile of names into two piles: 1) subscribers that are represented by attorneys (where their attorneys sent a ‘notice of representation’ to that attorney), and 2) subscribers who are not represented by an attorney. The experience of the ‘Subscribers who are not represented by attorney’ has best been described to me like ‘being called by a horrible creditor for a debt; only that creditor is an attorney and could ruin my life.’

Question: “Will the ‘copyright troll’ attorney contact me to extort a settlement?”

Answer: Funny enough, likely not. Attorneys have gotten reprimanded by the courts in recent years for abusive practices such as sending settlement demand letters (I used to refer to them as ‘scare’ letters because their purpose was to frighten and scare the defendants into paying the requested settlement amount). So rather than saying, “we want $6,000 for so-and-so title (or whatever they are asking),” the plaintiff attorneys will simply state that they have every intention of moving this case to trial, and if the defendant or his/her attorney wants to discuss settlement options, they are more than willing to cooperate.

So no, they will likely not try to contact you.

Question: “If they do not contact me, should I just ignore and do nothing until they name and serve me?”

Answer: Waiting to be named and served is a DANGEROUS legal strategy, for the simple reason that you are thrust into the “fight” option where you are forced to either spend tens of thousands of dollars to some defense attorney to litigate the case for you, or you have committed yourself to become a legal expert unrepresented “pro se” defendant.

If you have any intention of keeping your identity private, it is best to have your attorney negotiate the release of your “John Doe” placeholder entity WHILE YOU ARE STILL A JOHN DOE. As soon as you are named and served, your identity as being involved in a copyright infringement lawsuit will become public, even if your attorney convinces the other side that you are not the downloader. And, even if you ended up paying a settlement amount in lieu of litigating the claims against you, if you do so after you are named and served, your identity will become public knowledge and ‘there is no way to put that genie back in the bottle once it’s out.’

Point in sum. It is *almost ALWAYS* better to have your attorney proactively contact the plaintiff attorney before you are named and served. That way, if a release based on non-guilt is negotiated, it will be done anonymously. If a settlement is reached, then it will be done without the world learning that you were part of a copyright infringement lawsuit.

WHO IS THE ATTORNEY SUING ME?

TEXAS CASES: Gary Fischman (Fischman Law PLLC)

NOTE: Gary Fischman is the same attorney who is suing defendants in the I.T. Productions LLC cases, the September Productions cases, Cell Film Holdings cases, and Fathers & Daughters Nevada cases. He is often seen filing lawsuits in conjunction with Josh Wyde.

(I will obviously update this for other states. For the moment, I have been representing clients in the Texas Southern District Court (TXSD) because our Cashman Law Firm, PLLC practice is physically located in Houston, Texas.)

SUMMARY: ME2 SUBPOENAS DUE TODAY.

I could go on forever with these questions and answers, but the point is that your plaintiff attorney will likely be getting your contact information today for a number of the ME2 Productions, Inc. lawsuits in various states, and the reason for this is because your ISP (primarily, Comcast) is coordinating the compliance with the subpoena by bunching the various subpoenas together and handling them all at the same time.

Thus, expect that tomorrow, your respective ‘copyright troll’ plaintiff attorney will begin calling you, and from there, the process continues as I described above.

RECENT CASE HISTORY OF THE ME2 PRODUCTIONS, INC. CASES:

Cases filed in the Texas Southern District Court [2017 cases]:
Attorney: Gary Fischman (Fischman Law PLLC)

ME2 Productions, Inc. v. DOES (Case No. 4:17-cv-00501)
Filed: Feb 15, 2017, Judge: TBA

ME2 Productions, Inc. v. Does 1-12 (Case No. 4:17-cv-00404)
Filed: Feb 09, 2017, Judge: TBA

ME2 Productions, Inc. v. DOES (Case No. 4:17-cv-00275)
Filed: Jan 27, 2017, Judge: TBA

ME2 Productions, Inc. v. Does (Case No. 4:17-cv-00143)
Filed: Jan 17, 2017, Judge: TBA

Cases filed in the Nevada District Court:
Judges include Judge Andrew Gordon, Judge James Mahan, Judge Jennifer Dorsey, and Judge Richard Boulware II — Judge Mahan and Judge Gordon have most of the cases:

ME2 Productions, Inc. v. Does (Case No. 2:16-cv-02783)
The following cases also filed as ME2 Productions, Inc. v. Does:
Case No. 2:17-cv-00114
Case No. 2:16-cv-02563
Case No. 2:16-cv-02513
Case No. 2:16-cv-02799
Case No. 2:17-cv-00121
Case No. 2:17-cv-00126
Case No. 2:17-cv-00122
Case No. 2:16-cv-02657
Case No. 2:16-cv-02384
Case No. 2:16-cv-02520
Case No. 2:17-cv-00124
Case No. 2:17-cv-00123
Case No. 2:16-cv-02662
Case No. 2:16-cv-02788
Case No. 2:16-cv-02875
Case No. 2:16-cv-02660
Case No. 2:17-cv-00049

Cases filed in the North Carolina Eastern District Court:
Judges include Judge Louise Wood Flanagan, Judge Terrence Boyle, Judge W. Earl Britt — Judge Flanagan is the lead, as she has most of the cases and is in charge of the 5:16-cv-914 case into which the others have been consolidated, so watch her rulings to understand how ‘bittorrent’ law is about to evolve in North Carolina:

ME2 Productions, Inc. v. Doe 1, et al (Case No. 5:16-cv-00881)
ME2 Productions, Inc. v. Doe 1, et al (Case No. 5:16-cv-00885)
ME2 Productions, Inc. v. Doe 1, et al (Case No. 4:16-cv-00273)
ME2 Productions, Inc. v. Doe 1, et al (Case No. 5:16-cv-00896)
ME2 Productions, Inc. v. Does 1-8 (Case No. 5:16-cv-00914)
ME2 Productions, Inc. v. Does 1-9 (Case No. 7:16-cv-00385)
ME2 Productions, Inc. v. DOES 1-10 (Case No. 7:16-cv-00386)
ME2 Productions, Inc. v. Does 1-8 (Case No. 7:16-cv-00384, CONSOLIDATED into 5:16-cv-00914-FL)
ME2 Productions, Inc. v. Does 1-16 (Case No. 7:16-cv-00394)
ME2 Productions, Inc. v. Does 1-16 (Case No. 4:16-cv-00279)
ME2 Productions, Inc. v. Does 1-9 (Case No. 5:16-cv-00875)
ME2 Productions, Inc. v. Doe (Case No. 7:16-cv-00383)
ME2 Productions, Inc. v. Does 1-13 (Case No. 4:16-cv-00278)
ME2 Productions, Inc. v. Doe 1 et al (Case No. 5:16-cv-00917)
ME2 Productions, Inc. v. Doe 1 et al (Case No. 5:16-cv-00920)
ME2 Productions, Inc. v. Doe 1 et al (Case No. 5:16-cv-00922)
ME2 Productions, Inc. v. Does (Case No. 5:16-cv-00202)
ME2 Productions, Inc. v. Does (Case No. 5:16-cv-00206)

Cases filed in the Colorado District Court:
Judge Wiley Y. Daniel has ALL of the bittorrent cases. Watch his ruling because the ME2 cases might affect Colorado ‘bittorrent’ law.

ME2 PRODUCTIONS, INC. v. Doe 1 et al (Case No. 1:17-cv-00170)
ME2 Productions, Inc. v. Doe 1 et al (Case No. 1:16-cv-02978)
ME2 Productions, Inc. v. John Does 1-20 (Case No. 1:16-cv-03005)
ME2 PRODUCTIONS, INC. v. Doe 1 et al (Case No. 1:16-cv-03069)
ME2 Productions, Inc. v. John Does 1-24 (Case No. 1:16-cv-03128)
ME2 Productions, Inc. . v. Doe 1 et al (Case No. 1:17-cv-00301)
ME2 Productions, Inc. v. Doe 1 et al (Case No. 1:17-cv-00387)
ME2 Productions, Inc. v. Doe 1 et al (Case No. 1:17-cv-00033)
ME2 Productions, Inc v. John Does 1 – 11 (Case No. 1:16-cv-02770)
ME2 Productions, Inc v. John Does 1-21 (Case No. 1:16-cv-02788)
ME2 PRODUCTIONS, INC. v. Doe 1 et al (Case No. 1:16-cv-02827)
ME2 Productions, Inc v. John Does 1-10 (Case No. 1:16-cv-02891)
ME2 Productions, Inc. v. Doe 1 et al (Case No. 1:16-cv-02580)
ME2 PRODUCTIONS, INC. v. Doe 1 et al (Case No. 1:16-cv-02629)

Cases filed in the Washington Western District Court:
Judge Robert Lasnik appears to be in control of all of the bittorrent cases thus far (a number of them are still ‘TBA’, but I suspect they will go to Judge Lasnik). Watch his ruling on any of these cases, because a ruling on one of these cases will likely affect ALL of the other bittorrent cases in the Washington Western District Court.

ME2 Productions, Inc v. Doe 1 et al (Case No. 2:16-cv-01882)
ME2 Productions, Inc v. Doe 1 et al (Case No. 2:16-cv-01881)
ME2 Productions, Inc v. Doe 1 et al (Case No. 2:16-cv-01953)
ME2 Productions, Inc v. Doe 1 et al (Case No. 2:16-cv-01955)
ME2 Productions, Inc v. Doe 1 et al (Case No. 2:16-cv-01950)
ME2 Productions, Inc v. Doe 1 et al (Case No. 2:16-cv-01776)
ME2 Productions, Inc v. Doe 1 et al (Case No. 2:16-cv-01778)
ME2 Productions, Inc v. Doe 1 et al (Case No. 2:17-cv-00181)
ME2 Productions, Inc v. Doe 1 et al (Case No. 2:17-cv-00182)
ME2 Productions, Inc v. Doe 1 et al (Case No. 2:17-cv-00099)
ME2 Productions, Inc v. Doe 1 et al (Case No. 2:17-cv-00100)

Cases filed in the Indiana Northern and Southern District Courts:
These cases appear to be assigned to judges in a rotating fashion, and thus, while Judge Theresa Springman (in the Indiana Northern District) and Judge Larry Mckinney (in the Indiana Southern District) each appear to have three (3) cases each, there appears to be no leadership by either judge as to directing the Indiana court as to how or whether these cases will affect ‘bittorrent’ law.

ME2 Productions, Inc. v. Does 1-8 (Case No. 1:16-cv-00390)
ME2 Productions, Inc. v. Does 1-9 (Case No. 3:16-cv-00764)
ME2 Productions, Inc. v. Does 1-10 (Case No. 3:16-cv-00695)
ME2 Productions, Inc. v. Does 1-9 (Case No. 2:16-cv-00468)
ME2 Productions, Inc. v. Does 1-12 (Case No. 2:16-cv-00478)
ME2 Productions, Inc. v. Does 1-11 (Case No. 3:16-cv-00697)
ME2 PRODUCTIONS, INC. v. DOE 1 et al (Case No. 1:16-cv-03020)
ME2 PRODUCTIONS, INC. v. DOE 1 et al (Case No. 1:16-cv-02757)
ME2 PRODUCTIONS, INC. v. DOE 1 et al (Case No. 1:16-cv-02758)

Cases filed in the Arizona District Court:
These cases also appear to be assigned to judges in a rotating fashion, however, it is appearing that Judge Diane Humetewa is taking on more bittorrent cases than any of the others. So watch her court for leadership moving forward.

ME2 Productions Incorporated v. Unknown Parties (Case No. 2:17-cv-00210)
ME2 Productions Incorporated v. Unknown Parties (Case No. 2:16-cv-04039)
ME2 Productions Incorporated v. Unknown Parties (Case No. 2:16-cv-04075)
ME2 Productions Incorporated v. Unknown Parties (Case No. 2:16-cv-04114)
ME2 Productions Incorporated v. Unknown Parties (Case No. 2:16-cv-04112)
ME2 Productions Incorporated v. Unknown Parties (Case No. 2:16-cv-04123)
ME2 Productions Incorporated v. Unknown Parties (Case No. 2:17-cv-00216)
ME2 Productions Incorporated v. Unknown Parties (Case No. 2:17-cv-00217)
ME2 Productions Incorporated v. Unknown Parties (Case No. 2:17-cv-00218)
ME2 Productions Incorporated v. Unknown Parties (Case No. 2:17-cv-00222)

Cases filed in the New York Eastern and Southern District Courts:
NOTE: Single “John Doe” cases are being filed here. Warning!

ME2 Productions, Inc. v. Doe – 24.44.105.211 et al (Case No. 1:16-cv-06161)
ME2 Productions, Inc. v. Doe – 68.194.38.87 et al (Case No. 1:16-cv-06160)
ME2 Productions, Inc. v. Doe(s) – (Case No. 1:17-cv-00929)
ME2 Productions, Inc. v. Doe – 74.71.172.215 et al (Case No. 1:17-cv-01049)

Cases filed in the Oregon District Court:
Again, warning! These are single-doe cases.

ME2 Productions, Inc. v. Doe-76.27.219.56 (Case No. 3:16-cv-01724)
ME2 Productions, Inc. v. Doe-73.164.239.74 (Case No. 3:16-cv-01725)
ME2 Productions, Inc. v. Doe-24.21.195.166 (Case No. 3:17-cv-00158)

OTHER CASES (WITHOUT COMMENT):

Cases Filed in the Connecticut District Court:
ME2 Productions, Inc. v. Does (Case No. 3:16-cv-01834)
ME2 Productions, Inc. v. Does (Case No. 3:16-cv-01835)
ME2 Productions, Inc. v. Does (Case No. 3:16-cv-01837)
ME2 Productions, Inc. v. Does (Case No. 3:16-cv-01838)

Cases Filed in the Georgia Northern District Court:
ME2 Productions, Inc. v. Does 1-13 (Case No. 1:16-cv-03904)
ME2 Productions, Inc. v. Does 1-12 (Case No. 1:16-cv-04054)
ME2 Productions, Inc. v. DOES 1-11 (Case No. 1:16-cv-04208)
ME2 Productions, Inc. v. DOES 1-11 (Case No. 1:16-cv-04052)
ME2 Productions, Inc. v. DOES 1-11 (Case No. 1:16-cv-04210)
ME2 Productions, Inc. v. Does 1-9 (Case No. 1:16-cv-04207)
ME2 Productions, Inc. v. Doe 1 (Case No. 1:16-cv-04055)

Cases filed in the Illinois Northern District Court:
(Think, John Steele / Prenda Law Inc. / Steele|Hansmeier / #Prenda old territory.)
ME2 PRODUCTIONS, INC. v. DOES 1-25 (Case No. 1:17-cv-00712)
ME2 PRODUCTIONS, INC. v. DOES 1-25 (Case No. 1:17-cv-00706)
ME2 PRODUCTIONS, INC. v. DOES 1-25 (Case No. 1:17-cv-00708)
ME2 PRODUCTIONS, INC. v. DOES 1-42 (Case No. 1:17-cv-00714)
ME2 PRODUCTIONS, INC. v. DOES 1-26 (Case No. 1:17-cv-00710)

Case(s) filed in the Kentucky Western District Court:
ME2 Productions, Inc. v. Does 1-10 (Case No. 3:16-cv-00702)

Case(s) filed in the Maryland District Court:
ME2 Productions, Inc. v. Doe 1 et al (Case No. 8:16-cv-03730)

Case(s) filed in the Missouri Western District Court:
ME2 Productions, Inc. v. Doe 1 et al (Case No. 4:16-cv-01271)

Case(s) filed in the Ohio Northern and Southern District Courts:
ME2 Productions, Inc. v. Does (Case No. 3:16-cv-02715) — Northern
ME2 PRODUCTIONS, INC. v. DOES 1-14 (Case No. 2:16-cv-01062) — Southern

Cases filed in the Pennsylvania Eastern District Court:
(This is Jordan Rushie territory.)

ME2 PRODUCTIONS, INC. v. JOHN DOES 1-8 (Case No. 2:16-cv-06138)
ME2 PRODUCTIONS, INC. v. JOHN DOES 1-13 (Case No. 2:17-cv-00572)

Cases filed in the Virginia Eastern and Western District Courts:
ME2 Productions, Inc. v. Doe 1 (Case No. 3:17-cv-00058)
ME2 Productions, Inc. v. DOE 1 (Case No. 3:17-cv-00057)
ME2 Productions, Inc. v. Does 1-13 (Case No. 5:16-cv-00083)
ME2 Productions, Inc. v. Does 1-11 (Case No. 3:17-cv-00002)

I.T. Productions, LLC should really be called “I, Troll.”

September 3, 2020February 22, 2017 by Rob Cashman (Author, Owner of the Cashman Law Firm, PLLC)

IT Productions Lawsuits are clients of RIGHTSENFORCEMENT.com. Screenshot with I.T. outlined.

To properly defend against the I.T. Productions, LLC v. Does lawsuits, it is important to understand the similarities between each case. Each lawsuit, regardless of in which federal court it is filed, has certain similarities. The purpose of this article is to point out the similarities between the I.T. Productions cases, and other ‘movie troll’ lawsuits filed in the same federal courts by the same copyright troll attorneys.

Different Lawsuits, Same Plaintiff Attorneys?

These past few weeks, I have been pushing the idea that there is an entity (until now, I believed it was Voltage Pictures, Inc.) behind the lawsuits which is calling up movie companies who have produced movies which have flopped in the theaters (I call them “floppers”), and this entity convinces the movie company to license its copyright rights to them so that they can sue bittorrent users as John Doe Defendants in copyright infringement lawsuits across the US.

Yesterday, I wrote about the Cook Productions, LLC lawsuits (which are sending subpoenas to ISPs to reveal the identities of subscribers who are accused of downloading the “Mr. Church” flopper), and I was concerned that maybe this copyright holder was somehow separate from the others — the ME2 Productions lawsuits, the September Productions lawsuits, and the Cell Film Holdings lawsuits (the “three legs” or “trio“) — that we have been seeing over the past few months. [So it’s not a three-legged stool; it’s a chair.]

But then this morning, I was writing an article on the I.T. Productions, LLC lawsuits, and after speaking to a John Doe Defendant on the phone, I decided to check the list of plaintiff attorneys suing in each state for the I.T. Productions to the attorneys suing in the ME2 Productions, September Productions, (and also LHF Productions and Criminal Productions, Inc., articles to come), and the connections popped out at me. They are the same attorneys!!!

In sum, this ‘shadow entity’ (which I believed to be Voltage Pictures, Inc.) who is licensing ‘floppers’ is using the same attorneys to sue for each and every one of these movies.

I.T. Productions cases are filed in the same states as other movie troll cases.

Not only that, but for the IT Productions, LLC cases, they are even ‘dipping their toes’ into the same states as I saw yesterday when reviewing the Cook Productions, LLC cases. Here are the similarities:

Arizona District Court (NONE YET)
Colorado District Court (I.T. 10 cases, Cook Productions, 1 case)
Hawaii District Court (I.T. 2 cases, Cook Productions, 4 cases)
Illinois Northern District Court (NONE YET)
Indiana Northern & Southern District Courts (NONE YET)
Kentucky Western District Court (I.T. 1 case, Cook Productions 1 case)
Maryland District Court (I.T. 1 case, Cook Productions 1 case)
Nevada District Court (I.T. 1 case, Cook Productions 1 case)
North Carolina Eastern & Middle District Courts (NONE YET)
Ohio Northen & Southern District Courts (I.T. 2 cases, Cook Productions 2 cases)
Oregon District Courts (I.T. 4 cases, Cook Productions 3 cases)
Pennsylvania Eastern District Court (I.T. 1 case, Cook Productions 1 case)
Washington Western District Court (I.T. 1 case, Cook Productions 1 case)

See the similarities?!? So… expect to see I.T. Productions, LLC cases to soon be filed in Arizona, Illinois, Indiana, and North Carolina.

Texas based I.T. Productions Cases

Why are Gary Fischman and Josh Wyde always the plaintiff attorneys for each movie troll case?

As far as the attorneys for each of the lawsuits were concerned, I could not understand how here in Texas, Gary Fischman and Josh Wyde showed up OUT OF NOWHERE, and started filing lawsuits for Fathers & Daughters Nevada, September Productions, Cell Film Holdings, and most recently, I.T. Productions and ME2 Productions. Where did they come from? And how did they all of a sudden score EACH AND EVERY ONE OF THESE movie companies to come to THEM and hire THEM to sue John Doe defendants in Texas for the unlawful download of these films?

Why is R. Matthew Van Sickle always the attorney for the movie troll cases in North Carolina?

Another name that keeps popping up in recent weeks has been R. Matthew Van Sickle (a.k.a. Ross Matthew Van Sickle) of Van Sickle Law, PC in North Carolina. His website is http://mattvansicklelaw.com/ and it lists an expertise in “Construction Law, Civil Litigation, Employment Law, Insurance Coverage/Defense, and Mediation” (and no doubt, soon his website will be updated to state that he is knowledgeable in intellectual property matters, copyright infringement matters, and federal practice.) At least plaintiff / copyright troll attorneys Josh Wyde and Gary Fischman (AFAIK) are knowledgeable in this area of law.

The common threads between all movie troll cases.

So… who is behind these lawsuits? Is it Voltage Pictures, Inc.? Someone affiliated with Carl Crowell? Guardaley / IPP? Again, do you care??

All About the I.T. Productions Lawsuits (Regardless of Where They Are Filed)

So I digress. I.T. Productions, LLC has convinced the judges of the various courts to rubber stamp the authorization for them to conduct what is called ‘expedited discovery.’ What this means is that they are now permitted to send a subpoena to the various ISPs (e.g., Comcast, CenturyLink, AT&T, etc.), and force them to disclose the identity of the ten or so John Doe Defendants who are accused of copyright infringement from the download of their film.

The I.T. Productions, LLC lawsuit is suing for the download of the “I.T.” movie starring Pierce Brosnan. The concept of the movie is pretty cool — innovative owner of an enterprising company is flying high until his daughter gets stalked by one of his information technology (IT) guys, who uses every technological facet to attack them.

Unfortunately, as cool as the movie sounds, IMDb gave it only 5.4 or 10 stars, which means that the movie was a flopper. It’s too bad; I liked the concept of the movie.

So why did I spend all this time linking this I.T. Productions case to the Cook Productions case, the ME2 Productions case, and the others? To show that there is a decrepit and sinister entity behind the scene who has likely now set up the entity called “I.T. Productions, LLC” for the purpose of suing downloaders across the U.S. for copyright infringement.

However, as terrible as this sounds, the benefit to the John Doe Defendant reading this article is that you can begin to draw lines and conclusions from one lawsuit (e.g., the ME2 lawsuits) to understand how the plaintiff attorneys will act in these lawsuits.

Honestly, I think I understand now why this movie is called “I.T.” It really stands for “I Troll.”

As always, I hope this article has been of assistance to you.

For an analysis of the other I.T. Productions, LLC bittorrent-based cases filed across the US, click here.

RECENT CASE HISTORY OF THE I.T. PRODUCTIONS, LLC CASES:

Cases now filed in the Texas Southern District Court:
Attorney: Gary Fischman (Fischman Law PLLC)

I.T. Productions, LLC v. DOES (Case No. 4:17-cv-00597)

Cases filed in the Colorado District Court:
I.T. Productions, LLC v. Does 1-7 (Case No. 1:17-cv-00468)
I.T. Productions, LLC v. John Doe 1 et al (Case No. 1:16-cv-02979)
Other cases with the same name:
Case No. 1:16-cv-02998
Case No. 1:16-cv-03009
Case No. 1:16-cv-03058
Case No. 1:16-cv-03064
Case No. 1:16-cv-03089
Case No. 1:16-cv-03132
Case No. 1:16-cv-03150
Case No. 1:17-cv-00112

Cases filed in the Hawaii District Court:
I.T. Productions, LLC v. Does 1 through 5 (Case No. 1:17-cv-00084)
I.T. Productions, LLC v. Does 1 through 3 (Case No. 1:17-cv-00035)
I.T. Productions, LLC v. Does 1-6 (Case No. 1:16-cv-00641)

Case filed in the Kentucky Western District Court:
I.T. Productions, LLC v. Does 1-11 (Case No. 3:16-cv-00836)

Case filed in the Maryland District Court:
I.T. Productions, LLC v. Doe 1 et al (Case No. 8:16-cv-03999)

Case filed in the Nevada District Court:
I.T. Productions, LLC v. Does (Case No. 2:16-cv-02705)

Cases filed in the Ohio Northern and Southern District Courts (respectively):
I.T. Productions LLC v. Does 1-10 (Case No. 3:16-cv-03073)
I.T. Productions LLC v. Does 1-15 (Case No. 2:16-cv-01199)

Cases filed in the Oregon District Court:
I.T. Productions, LLC v. Doe-76.115.0.173 (Case No. 3:16-cv-02102)
I.T. Productions, LLC v. Doe-76.27.241.78 (Case No. 3:16-cv-02103)
I.T. Productions, LLC v. Doe-76.115.228.18 (Case No. 3:16-cv-02101)
I.T. Productions, LLC v. Doe-76.27.242.207 (Case No. 3:17-cv-00163)

Case filed in the Pennsylvania Eastern District Court:
I.T. PRODUCTIONS, LLC v. JOHN DOES 1-8 (Case No. 2:16-cv-06533)

Case filed in the Washington Western District Court:
I.T. Productions, LLC v. Doe 1 et al (Case No. 2:16-cv-01775)

Cook Productions now ‘dipping toes’ into federal courts.

September 3, 2020February 22, 2017 by Rob Cashman (Author, Owner of the Cashman Law Firm, PLLC)

Rights Enforcement | RIGHTSENFORCEMENT.com screenshot with Mr. Church (Cook Productions) outlined.

Cook Productions (“Mr. Church”) Movie Lawsuits are filed across the US.

How many cases have been filed in each federal court?

At the time of writing this article (Feb. 2017), Cook Productions, LLC has sued John Doe Defendants in following US District Courts*:

Arizona District Court (2)
Colorado District Court (1)
Hawaii District Court (4)
Illinois Northern District Court (14)
Indiana Northern & Southern District Courts (1, 1)
Kentucky Western District Court (1)
Maryland District Court (1)
Nevada District Court (1)
North Carolina Eastern & Middle District Courts (1, 5)
Ohio Northen & Southern District Courts (1, 1)
Oregon District Courts (3)
Pennsylvania Eastern District Court (1)
Washington Western District Court (3)

*I have included the number of filings so that you can see in which states these plaintiffs are focusing their efforts.

All About the Mr. Church Movie Lawsuit

Cook Productions, LLC is the legal entity suing Comcast ISP subscribers for the download of the “Mr. Church” movie with Eddie Murphy and Britt Robertson. The movie itself looked like a feel good drama, although the movie itself got dismal ratings (which is probably why someone agreed to start suing downloaders of this movie to make up for their shortfall.)

COS (Consequence of Sound) rated the movie as a D-, referring to it as “unusually bad melodrama…. about as enjoyable as a plague of locusts.”
Indiewire rated it as a C-, claiming that the movie “flails for the heartstrings, but instead of reaching them, it only tugs at that muscle that makes you roll your eyes at its old-fashioned, melodramatic attempts at emotion.”

In sum, this is yet one more movie that failed at the box office, which made it a target for some company to snatch it up in some licensing deal, and then turn on its fans by suing each one in the federal courts. Even the number of downloaders interested in pirating this film is laughably small.

What do I do if I receive a subpoena from my Internet Provider?

For someone who received a subpoena claiming that they should file a motion to quash to stop their ISP from disclosing their contact information, speak to an attorney because most likely, you live in the state in which you were sued, and the court has jurisdiction over you.

I’d be happy to explain this further if you would like, because the last time I taught anyone about motions to quash may have been back in 2012 (by the way; although those articles are many years old now, the law explained in them is still good, so please feel free to revisit older articles as I did a lot of ‘teaching of concepts’ back when bittorrent case law was not yet “hashed out,” pardon the geeky pun).

Is there anything you can share to help me understand this case?

I have four items that I can contribute to these lawsuits which might be of assistance to someone who is looking for some free legal help or tips on how to understand these lawsuits.

1. The lawsuits are smaller than they should be.

The Cook Productions copyright holders do not have many lawsuits. While it is scary to see multiple lawsuits in your court, in many cases, there are a small handful of defendants in each case (sometimes only including 5-7 John Doe Defendants in one lawsuit).

This suggests to me a fear that they might lose a significant pool of their defendants to a dismissal.

On the flip side, you could also say that the attorneys expect to maximize the money they make by extorting as much as possible from one or more defendants, but I have reasons why [for the most part] this is not the case.

2. The lawsuits appear to be filed in ‘untested’ states.

The Cook Productions lawsuits are sprinkled a few here, a few there, as if they are ‘dipping their toes’ into the various federal courts to see which jurisdictions end up being favorable to them.

In my experience, this is simply an indication that Cook Productions is either inexperienced or lazy, because if they did their research into what has already happened over the years with other bittorrent lawsuits, they would have learned which jurisdictions are favorable to so-called copyright trolls, and which are not so favorable.

Why file lawsuits in federal courts where judges are known to be unfriendly to copyright trolls?

Placing 14 cases in the Illinois Northern District Court (Prenda Law Inc. / John Steele’s former home court) is simply a mistake because there are too many judges there which will laugh when they see this lawsuit hit their case list. At least they knew to stay out of Texas.

3. New “no-name” copyright troll attorneys are being tested in these cases.

There are many well known ‘copyright troll attorneys’ in each of the states Cook is filing in. These attorneys have filed countless lawsuits against many John Doe Defendants over the years.

However, in a handful of states that I have reviewed for the Cook Productions LLC lawsuits, I am seeing “no-name” attorneys represent the copyright holder.

Let me be clear — if I were to hire an attorney to pursue downloaders, I would hire experienced attorneys who have filed lawsuits in these courts, who know the judges, and who know copyright law.

Rather, I am seeing random attorneys take on these clients who have websites that reference the plaintiff attorney’s areas of expertise to be “insurance law,” “employment law,” “construction law,” …but where is the intellectual property law specialty? Where is the “copyright law” specialty?

Answer: There is none. These fields of expertise are STATE-BASED areas of law, and in my humble opinion, a number of these local attorneys have never stepped foot in a federal court.

4. If the local plaintiff attorneys have no experience in copyright law, then they must be following instructions of someone higher.

How have they filed these cases then?? Funny, I thought the same thing. The case filings look IDENTICAL to me, suggesting to me that there is SOME COMMON ENTITY WHO IS FEEDING TEMPLATES TO THESE ATTORNEYS, and these attorneys file them in the federal courts.

My final thoughts about the Cook Productions, LLC lawsuits.

In sum, Cook Productions, LLC appears to me to be yet another copyright troll. If I was a betting man, I would suggest that some entity licensed the rights to the failed “Mr. Church” movie, and is now suing John Doe Defendants across the US using each state’s local attorneys as straw men to act as if they are the ones who are representing the client to enforce that client’s copyright rights.

For an analysis of the other Cook Productions, LLC bittorrent-based cases [as they start to develop past the subpoena phase of the lawsuit], click here.

What are the actual names of the Mr. Cook lawsuits filed in each court?

Cases filed in the Arizona District Court:
Cook Productions LLC v. Unknown Parties (Case No. 2:16-cv-04478)
Also, Case No. 2:16-cv-04481

Case filed in the Colorado District Court:
Cook Productions, LLC v. Doe 1-23 (Case No. 1:16-cv-03198)

Cases filed in the Hawaii District Court:
Cook Productions, LLC v. Does 1 through 15 (Case No. 1:17-cv-00034)
Cases also filed against small-number Doe Defendants:
Does 1-8 (Case No. 1:16-cv-00637)
Does 1-4 (Case No. 1:16-cv-00639)
Does 1-5 (Case No. 1:16-cv-00638)

Cases filed in the Illinois Northern District Court:
COOK PRODUCTIONS, LLC v. DOES 1-24 (Case No. 1:16-cv-11338)
Cases also filed against small-number Doe Defendants:
v. DOES 1-15 (Case No. 1:17-cv-00522)
v. DOES 1-12 (Case No. 1:17-cv-00536, 1:17-cv-00526)
v. Does 1-29 (Case No. 1:16-cv-11337)
v. DOES 1-12 (Case No. 1:17-cv-00535)
v. Does 1-13 (Case No. 1:17-cv-00523)
v. DOES 1-14 (Case No. 1:16-cv-11347)
v. DOES 1-15 (Case No. 1:16-cv-11345)
v. DOES 1-18 (Case No. 1:16-cv-11341)
v. DOES 1-25 (Case No. 1:16-cv-11340)
v. DOES 1-13 (Case No. 1:16-cv-11350)
v. Does 1-21 (Case No. 1:16-cv-11344)
v. DOES 1-23 (Case No. 1:16-cv-11339)

Cases filed in the Indiana Northern & Southern District Courts (respectively):
Cook Productions, LLC v. Does 1-11 (Case No. 3:16-cv-00773)
COOK PRODUCTIONS LLC v. DOE 1 et al (Case No. 1:16-cv-03158)

Case filed in the Kentucky Western District Court:
NOTE: The “Inc.” is probably a silly typo from a sloppy attorney.

Cook Productions, Inc. v. Does 1-9 (Case No. 3:16-cv-00838)

Case filed in the Maryland District Court:
Cook Productions, LLC v. Doe 1 et al (Case No. 8:16-cv-03873)

Case filed in the Nevada District Court:
Cook Productions, LLC v. Does (Case No. 2:17-cv-00069)

Cases filed in the North Carolina Eastern & Middle District Courts:
Cook Productions, LLC v. Doe 1, et al. (Case No. 5:16-cv-00910)
Also Filed:
Case No. 5:16-cv-00909
Case No. 5:16-cv-00924
COOK PRODUCTIONS, LLC V. DOES 1-5 (Case No. 1:16-cv-01369)
COOK PRODUCTIONS, LLC V. DOES 1-11 (Case No. 1:16-cv-01375, 1:16-cv-01374)
COOK PRODUCTIONS, LLC V. DOES 1-7 (Case No. 1:16-cv-01372)
COOK PRODUCTIONS, LLC V. DOES 1-9 (Case No. 1:16-cv-01373)

Cases filed in the Ohio Northern & Southern District Courts (respectively):
Cook Productions, LLC v. Does (Case No. 3:16-cv-03045)
Cook Productions LLC v. Does 1-15 (Case No. 2:16-cv-01192)

Cases Filed in the Oregon District Court:
NOTE: OK, this one concerns me. Look at the attorney and the “single Doe” case lawsuit style. These might play out differently than the others [just my gut feeling].

Cook Productions, LLC v. Doe-50.53.40.201 (Case No. 3:16-cv-02086)
Cook Productions, LLC v. Doe-71.63.208.154 (Case No. 3:16-cv-02085)
Cook Productions v. Doe-73.37.111.126 (Case No. 3:17-cv-00162)

Case filed in the Pennsylvania Eastern District Court:
COOK PRODUCTIONS, LLC. v. JOHN DOES 1-13 (Case No. 2:17-cv-00705)

Cases filed in the Washington Western District Court:
Cook Productions, LLC v. Doe 1 et al (Case No. 2:16-cv-01884)
Also filed:
Case No. 2:17-cv-00252
Case No. 2:17-cv-00101