Greensboro attorney Stephen Robertson filed a motion to quash a lawsuit by the Recording Industry Association of America on behalf of eight N.C. State students this week.
The motion to quash came months after the RIAA dished out pre-litigation settlements to 38 State students, as well as many other students at colleges across the country, for illegal music downloading and person-to-person file sharing.
According to Pam Gerace, director of Student Legal Services, very few students have taken the settlement, adding that three have met with her before settling. The settlements RIAA is offering are for $4,000, she said.
But both Gerace and Robertson are hoping the more than 20 students who have yet to do anything will come out and join the motion, citing the only reason to be against it is the cost of attorneys.
“When you have more than eight students splitting the cost, it drops dramatically,” Gerace said. “But some students seem to be just sitting it out and hoping it goes away — that’s not going to happen.”
No matter how the judge rules on the motion to quash, he can decide afterward to make the University identify the names of the students involved in the suit to the RIAA.
“He has the basis to do that, and then the University can no longer protect them,” Gerace said.
There is the possibility the judge could drop RIAA’s subpoena for everyone, according to Gerace. But she said that’s a risk students should not be willing to take.
The fact that eight students joined the motion to quash was a feat Stephenson labeled as “quite remarkable and should be a source of Wolfpack pride.”
No other campus, out of the dozens where students have recieved letters, has had that many people join a motion to quash, according to Stephenson. But he added that eight is not a limit.
Even though Stephenson and his firm already presented the case before a judge, he can go back to the judge soon if more people join.
“We’d be happy to bring the motion back to the court if more join,” Stephenson said. “We can also set up a terms of engagement, where if the judge does not accept the additions, then they will be refunded attorney fees.”
Stephenson expects the RIAA to take about 30 days to respond to the motion. Then add to the equation the break the courts will take for December holidays and the possibility of oral arguments in January, and Stephenson said he believes this will be a long process.
Members of his Greensboro law firm have fought and won against the RIAA before. One of the attorneys was a part of a successful motion to quash by William & Mary students earlier in the year.
“With eight students joining, there is more financial wherewithal to spend more hours fighting this case,” Stephenson said.
The firm is working to make clear that it is the job of Congress to police file sharing — not the RIAA’s, according to Stephenson.
“We’re hoping to build the foundation for new laws and regulations,” he said.
