Woman Countersues RIAA

The Recording Industry Association of America (RIAA) has been very active in filing suits and claiming damages on behalf of its members for illegally downloaded music. But it’s taken on a Texas woman and suddenly finds itself with a legal fight on its hands. Rhonda Crain has filed a countersuit against the RIAA in the U.S. District Court for the Eastern District of Texas, Beaumont Division, claiming that Sony BMG Music Entertainment and others in the Recording Industry Association of America lawsuit illegally employed unlicensed investigators and were aware that they were disregarding the laws of her state. According to documents filed with the court, Crain claims that when suit was filed against her, the plaintiffs had “agreed between themselves and understood that unlicensed and unlawful investigations would take place in order to provide evidence for this lawsuit, as well as thousands of others as part of a mass litigation campaign. On information and belief, the private investigations company hired by plaintiffs engaged in one or more overt acts of unlawful private investigation. Such actions constitute civil conspiracy under Texas common law.” Crain also claims that she did not infringe on copyright-protected music. Her lawyer, John Stoneham, has asserted that no-one contact her before the original RIAA suit was filed, and that the only evidence produced has been a screenshot of a peer-to-peer file sharing network and Crain’s account status with her ISP, with no apparent connection shown between the two. Stoneham argues that the $115 million settlement file-sharing network Kazaa has reached with the RIAA should cover all infringements, and that plaintiffs are barred from recovering damages twice on the same alleged infringements. Crain is seeking reimbursement for having to defend the suit. She has asked the court to throw out the case, and to grant her “all other relief as the court may deem equitable and proper including an award of damages.” There was no comment from the RIAA.