Team Prenda Done Fighting Judge Otis Wright
from the govern-yourself-accordingly dept
Well, one of the big Prenda cases may finally be over. As you may recall, the first truly scathing legal ruling against Team Prenda came a little over three years ago when Judge Otis Wright basically lit Team Prenda on fire. If you haven’t read that whole decision in a while, it’s still a thing of beauty. Here’s just one paragraph:
Plaintiffs have demonstrated their willingness to deceive not just this Court, but other courts where they have appeared. Plaintiffs? representations about their operations, relationships, and financial interests have varied from feigned ignorance to misstatements to outright lies. But this deception was calculated so that the Court would grant Plaintiffs? early-discovery requests, thereby allowing Plaintiffs to identify defendants and exact settlement proceeds from them. With these granted requests, Plaintiffs borrow the authority of the Court to pressure settlement.
Since this was their first really major loss in court, Team Prenda still brashly insisted they would prevail on appeal, and that Judge Wright’s ruling would not last. At the time Prenda mastermind John Steele even insisted that this was the only time that they had lost:
But very few people can argue that these [sanctions] are allowed, legally. The overwhelming majority of courts have found in our favor in hearings. The only cases that stand out are Judge Wright.
Of course, since then, court after court after court after court after court has ruled against Steele (there are more, I just got tired of finding them all). And, of course, Steele is facing discipline from the Illinois Attorney Discipline Board and, quite possibly, criminal trials (where the investigation likely began following Judge Wright’s ruling, which passed along the info to law enforcement).
In the midst of all of this, Steele’s big appeal of Wright’s ruling, that he was so sure about, fell flat on its face back in June. For all of Steele’s talk about how Wright was totally off base and there was no basis for sanctions, the 9th Circuit didn’t buy it at all.
The district court did not abuse its discretion in ordering the Prenda Principals to post additional bond to cover Doe?s attorney?s fees on appeal. The district court had ample reason to do so. The Prenda Principals have engaged in abusive litigation, fraud on courts across the country, and willful violation of court orders. They have lied to other courts about their ability to pay sanctions…. They also failed to pay their own attorney?s fees in this case. Considering the Prenda Principals? tactics throughout this case, it was not an abuse of discretion to increase the bond amount to cover the projected cost of attorney?s fees on appeal.
Given all that, the case went back down to Judge Wright and, finally, it appears that this case is really over. Earlier this week, Judge Wright basically closed out the case after Steele and Hansmeier* agreed to settle rather than try to fight on, with the insurance company that had originally secured the bond they needed to get to cover the possible sanctions, SureTec, agreeing to pay out the money. (*Well, not really Hansmeier — since he filed bankruptcy, the bankruptcy trustee handled it for him instead).
Doe, Steele, and Hansmeier filed a stipulation and proposed order with the Ninth Circuit seeking to settle all issues that were the subject of the appeal, the relevant terms of which are as follows: (1) Doe shall be paid a total amount of $132,393.75, which consists of the original $81,319.72 sanction, $278.73 in interest, and $50,795.30 in costs and fees incurred on appeal; (2) Doe will move this Court for summary adjudication of SureTec?s obligation on the bonds in the amount of $132,393.75, which Steele and Hansmeier agree not to oppose; and (3) Doe, Steele, and Hansmeier agree not to file any further motions, appeals, or petitions for writ of certiorari on the issues adjudicated on appeal.
Judge Wright accepts the agreement and the case is basically, finally, over.
Filed Under: copyright, copyright trolling, john steele, otis wright, paul hansemeier, sanctions
Companies: ingenuity 13, prenda, prenda law
Comments on “Team Prenda Done Fighting Judge Otis Wright”
Is this the beginning of the end of the Prendapocalypse? Could they really be facing consequences for all their stupidity?
TO FIND OUT, TUNE IN NEXT WEEK, PRENDAHOLICS! SAME STEELE TIME, SAME STEELE CHANNEL!
It's never over
Villains never really surrender; they just disappear for a while, then come back more powerful than ever. [evil laugh]
Re: It's never over
Hell, SCO v IBM still isn’t technically over…
Re: Re: It's never over
BUT TEH SCOX WILL WIN ANY DAY NOW WITH BIG VICTOREY!!! (sic)
TO TEH MOON!!!! (really sick)
Re: Re: Re: It's never over
Thankfully SCO is BK. If their original lawsuit were filed today the outcome might have been different because of the Appeals Court ruling in Google vs. Oracle. Apparently APIs are now copyrightable. This was one of the many losing arguments that SCO made in their IBM lawsuit.
Re: Re: Re:2 It's never over
I watch. Every. Single. Day. For the day when SCOX will be gone.
I want to buy some Techdirt Salt Buttery Marsh Popcorn. When will it be in stock?
Two weeks pay
Steele claimed he was making $10k/day from this scam.
$132,393.75 is only 14 days of lost wages.
only a small victory
Why aren’t these goons in prison yet? It was years ago that the Prenda copyright trolling operation was exposed as a massively illegal scam that extorted millions of dollars out of people.
So where is all that money now, and what about those shady offshore “trusts” that they secretly owned and operated?
Will this process take another decade before we finally see justice served and these criminals behind bars?
Re: only a small victory
no doubt prenda will expect us to take their word that the money never existed and they are bankrupt despite evidence to the contrary
A blast from the past
“Given the judge’s brazen attempt to punish people that displease him, I would not be shocked to see this one get appealed. Clearly the judge has it out for them, and has taken this to a personal level. He will be lucky to keep his job when this is all over.”
“[Prenda] will appeal, and they will win.”
— horse with no name/My Name Here/Just Sayin’/Whatever
Altogether now…
HAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHA
So … did Prenda win?
“Team Prenda Done Fighting Judge Otis Wright”
I’m really tired of all the bad news on Techdirt. I think it’s time to find a place with good news. Maybe it’s time to go listen to Limbaugh…
Time to stock up on Techdirt Popcorn, Movie of the year is set to release next year 🙂
Would anyone else be shocked to discover that SureTec is a shoe box in Steeles closet?
Re: Re:
Steele-capped tap-dancing shoes I assume.
Re: Re: Re:
pssst you missed the joke.
One of the things that came out during Hans’s bankruptcy was that a trust he was hiding cash in & claiming no control or benefit from was literally a shoebox stuffed with cash in the closet where his wife minded it.
Re: Re:
Yeah, given the rest of their ‘shenanigans’ I wouldn’t count the fines as paid until it’s been cleared by the bank for at least a week or two, and double, triple, and quadruple checked.
Of course if they did actually manage to con some idiot insurance company to cover them well, sucks to be them, maybe they’ll do a little research on who they’re insuring next time, ideally before they sign the deal.
Leftover popcorn
But, but, but I’ve still got popcorn left, it can’t be over.
To be honest, I am a little sad that the Prenda horror/drama series is about to end. I do truly love the articles about them. Actually the first article I read on Techdirt was on Prenda after being redirected from (most likely slashdot). Ever since then I have been a huge TD fan. (yes, I have an account but am too lazy to sign in).
so much for the big leagues
So, Hansmeier, who sent the threatening letter to Alan Cooper’s attorney with ‘welcome to the big leagues’ is in bankruptcy. I think he overloaded my irony meter; the needle is still pegged.
Dear John Steele
Have you considered running for US president?
You may find that you are uniquely qualified.
The Order
While I like the outcome, reading the order itself was a little disappointing. No trekkie references at all.
Prenda
Prenda's not dead...yet
For those with an overstock of popcorn, do not fret. When (if) the criminal charges against Prenda come to life there might be more opportunities to make use of your inventory.