Las Vegas Sun NewsMarshals ordered to seize Righthaven assets
Facebook
Fark
Digg
Reddit
StumbleTuesday
1 November 2011
7:54 p.m.
Righthaven Archives
VEGAS INC archives
- First Righthaven trial called off (11-1-2011)
- Righthaven misses deadlines, again faces asset seizure threat (10-29-2011)
- Defense attorneys hit Righthaven lawyer with sanctions motion (10-26-2011)
- Legal attacks under way in advance of first Righthaven trial (10-25-2011)
- Another judge doubtful of Righthaven’s standing to sue (10-25-2011)
UPDATE: Copyright lawsuit filer Righthaven LLC of Las Vegas signaled Wednesday that a creditor will have to jump through more hoops before it gains control of Righthaven’s assets.
Las Vegas copyright infringement lawsuit filer Righthaven LLC’s financial problems grew Tuesday when the federal court in Las Vegas commanded the U.S. Marshals Service to seize more than $63,000 in Righthaven assets to satisfy a creditor’s judgment and costs.
Lance Wilson, clerk of the court, signed a writ of execution requested by attorneys for Wayne Hoehn, who was sued for copyright infringement by Righthaven — but then defeated Righthaven in court when his case was dismissed this summer.
Righthaven since March 2010 has filed 275 lawsuits against websites, bloggers and message board posters claiming they infringed on material from the Las Vegas Review-Journal and the Denver Post by posting their content online without authorization.
The company’s litigation campaign stalled this summer after three suits were thrown out on fair use grounds and five judges in Nevada and Colorado ruled Righthaven lacked standing to sue because it didn’t control the newspaper copyrights it claimed to own.
Hoehn, a Kentucky message board poster, had posted a Review-Journal column on a sports betting website.
Righthaven said the no-warning suits against Hoehn and the other defendants were needed to deter rampant infringement of news content, but Hoehn’s attorneys said the suit against him was aimed at chilling Hoehn’s free speech rights.
After U.S. District Judge Philip Pro in Las Vegas dismissed Righthaven’s suit against Hoehn this summer on both fair use and standing grounds, he also ordered Righthaven to pay his $34,045.50 in legal fees to Randazza Legal Group of Las Vegas.
Righthaven has refused to pay and has said it faces bankruptcy if a creditor like Hoehn tries to seize its assets. The company has said it’s low on cash because the problems with its litigation campaign have reduced lawsuit settlement revenue. But even as the company has refused to pay Hoehn, it has continued paying attorneys to litigate other cases in Nevada, Colorado and South Carolina.
It’s appealing to the 9th U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals both the dismissal of its suit against Hoehn as well as the award for his attorney’s fees — one of several attorney’s fee awards Righthaven has been hit with or is likely to be hit with.
The writ of execution signed Tuesday covers not only the original $34,045 in fees, but nearly $30,000 more in fees racked up by Randazza Legal Group in trying to get Righthaven to pay the first $34,045.
The entire writ, which includes a small amount of interest, is for $63,720.80.
A message for comment was placed with Righthaven on the writ.
Based on its past practice, Righthaven is likely to fight execution of the writ with another court appeal — though it hasn’t taken the bankruptcy option off the table.
The writ was issued after Randazza Legal Group attorneys asked the court to issue it Saturday, one day after Righthaven missed a deadline to either pay the original $34,045 or post a bond guaranteeing payment while it appealed the fee award.
"Righthaven has exhausted any benefit of the doubt that it could be afforded, and it is time for it to pay the consequences for its actions — starting with Hoehn’s lawful judgment plus the accrued costs and fees expended in the (so far) futile attempts to compel Righthaven to take this court’s orders seriously,’’ Randazza attorneys wrote in Saturday’s request.
Share
Join the Discussion:
Previous Discussion:
Discussion 7 comments
Only trusted comments are displayed on this page. Untrusted comments have expired from this story.
Most Popular
- It’s back! New Wet ‘n’ Wild wins over frolickers thirsty for Vegas water park
- Firefly set to reopen on Paradise after salmonella outbreak
- Sex education bill loses its momentum, dies in Nevada Senate
- UNLV to face Arizona at home after deal falls apart to move football game
- Political heat derails plan to let Legislature meet in Las Vegas
Looks like Righthaven's BK filling will be soon.
If all goes well though the judges are not going to let them hide behind the BK and make the principles liable for these judgments.
They pushed things to far and their business plan did not work. Shakedowns normally don't work long term as they have now found out.
About time. Shut these clowns down. And then put them in jail for abuse of the legal system. How many people have had their chance at justice delayed or denied due to these clowns taking up enormous amounts of time from many courts and judges? I don't just mean the RH defendants, but how many other cases could have been handled while they were busy screwing around?
The Randazza Group will seize the very copyrights Righthaven claims to own. Stephens Media may lose the copyrights to the works they sought to protect by coming up with this scheme with Righthaven.
Wouldn't it be interesting if Randazza sues Stephens Media for copyright infringement over the works?
Karma is a bitch isn't it!
i love it. the bullying creeps at righthaven are finally getting what they deserve. hopefully they'll be gone forever soon.
The court says the US Marshals can use "reasonable force". Water-boarding sounds reasonable to me.
This is what happens when you try to tell a Federal Judge that he is wrong in how he is ruling....
Karma can be a good thing and it can be a bad thing!! Anyone want to buy a newspaper??
Gibson you've worn out your welcome here. How about finding a new place to spread your brand of ooozzzzee. Sorry I couldn't have been the one to make the first karma remark. Nothing could be finer than to see his face as they take his desk and chair leaving him sitting on the floor with his ear thingy.
Vaya con dios Mr. Spock!!!! We won't miss you.
Will Norm Clarke's eye patch be considered an asset in bankruptcy court?
Remember Steve Dallas, the attorney / sleazebag from the Opus comic strip? I wondered what he'd been doing since that strip ended.
This lawyer is right up there with the California attorney who sues businesses that don't have sufficient handicap access.
And here I thought newspapers only printed bad news.
Righthaven (therefore, by extension, also Stephens Media) = extortionists...Here's to hoping the BK judge won't allow the BK to shield Righthaven from coughing up the judgements won legitimately by the innocent defendants.
Steve, you deserve a vacation for your work. It's good to see this chapter coming to a close.
These guys are similar to Masterfile and Getty images. They use the legal system as extortion and are constructed to frighten innocent end-users. No "C&D"...no warning....just an operation geared, constructed and developed solely for the purpose of taking advantage of the inefficiencies inherent in the development of the internet. Their extortionist, brutal and cruel demand letters, with their outrageous amounts of settlement figures, have brought them to the brink of their end. I am so very pleased to learn of Righthaven's demise and hope (and know) that this sends shivers up and down the worthless spines of Masterfile and Getty. It would be extremely difficult, but let's all hope that somehow the courts can find a way to get to the principles themselves.....personally. Not just shut them down....but make them pay and "send a message" (as they like to say). If only I had the opportunity to join a class action suit against them, I would gladly contribute money as well as evidence. Take note Masterfile...we're coming to get you.
Oh look, they were even nice enough to include the word "troll" before they made it illegal to talk about news from freely provided content or paid for by the people who bought it .content.
here's your welfare check
A quick search on lvrj.com found zero mention of Righthaven....interesting.
HAHAHAHAHH!
MUST TO MY EARS
Now go after the kingpin that funding them, RJ. Its like a gang, you gotta take the head off the top.
Chunky says:
Love it!
Chunky asks that in case of a bankruptcy couldn't the creditor defendants against Righthaven go after the monies paid out to the lawyers defending Righthaven via Preferential Treatment provisions?
Either way it's a happy day to see Righthaven smacked down!
That's what Chunky thinks!
Time wounds all heels!
Chick-a-boom-chick-a-boom
Don't ya jes' love it
Chick-a-boom-chick-a-boom
Don't you jes' love it
Chick-a-boom-chick-a-boom
Don't ya jes' love it
Chick-a-boom-chick-a-boom-boom-boom.
(c) 1971 Daddy Dewdrop (M. Richard Monda). The above is posted as political commentary in accordance with the fair-use exemption of the Copyright Code (Title 17 United States Code, Section 107 et. seq.). Valid in the United States and Canada except Newfoundland. Void where prohibited.