Closed Righthaven Copyright Infringement Cases (D. Nevada) -- Part One
According to a search on PACER for Righthaven as a party in copyright cases filed in the federal district court of Nevada, as of June 23, 2011, there were 217 Righthaven cases, 80 of which were still open.
In light of the recent decisions from that court unfavorable to Righthaven, that got me wondering what happened in the other 137 cases that were closed as of June 23rd. Curiosity as usual getting the best of me, I searched PACER to see what I could find out about those 137 cases, the vast majority of which were voluntarily dismissed. The following blog posts reflect what I found in summary fashion.
- Righthaven LLC v. MoneyReign, Inc., Case No. 2:10-cv-00350-PMP-RJJ (D. Nev.) (J. Philip M. Pro) -- filed March 13, 2010. Matter voluntarily dismissed with prejudice on May 19, 2010, as the parties had "agreed to settle the matter by a written agreement." No answer from defendant apparent from the docket.
- Righthaven LLC v. National Organization for the Reform of Marijuana Laws, et al., Case No. 2:10-cv-00351-LDG-PAL (D. Nev. (J. Lloyd D. George) -- filed March 15, 2010. Judgment entered on June 7, 2010, in favor of Righthaven for $2,185.95 less amount of costs accrued against Defendant NORML based on a notice of acceptance with offer of judgment. Stipulation of voluntary dismissal with prejudice entered on July 12, 2010, with respect to Defendant Media Awareness Project, Inc. based on the parties' settlement agreement, with the Court retaining jurisdiction to enforce the terms of the agreement.
- Righthaven LLC v. Majorwager.com, Inc., Case No. 2:10-cv-00484-GMN-LRL (D. Nev.) (J. Gloria M. Navarro) -- filed April 7, 2010. Court denies defendant's motion to dismiss on October 28, 2010, concluding in part that Righthaven had standing to sue because "[a]bsent any other evidence to the contrary, the assignor (Stephens Media) appears to have successfully transferred the ownership interest in the accrued past infringement by expressly stating it in the assignment." (Footnote omitted). In the omitted footnote, the Court specifically noted that the parties did not address "the true nature of the transfer or any other possible defects related to Plaintiff's standing" and that "[r]egardless of the assignment's assertions, if only a right to sue was transferred; [sic] Plaintiff may lack standing." Stipulation of voluntary dismissal with prejudice entered on February 1, 2011, stating that the parties had "resolved their differences."
- Righthaven LLC v. Farnham, et al., Case No. 2:10-cv-00539-LDG-RJJ (D. Nev.) (J. Lloyd D. George) -- filed April 14, 2010. Matter voluntarily dismissed with prejudice on May 19, 2010, as the parties had "agreed to settle the matter by a written agreement." No answer from the defendant apparent from the docket.
- Righthaven LLC v. Chavez, Case No. 2:10-cv-00584-RLH-LRL (D. Nev.) (J. Roger L. Hunt) -- filed April 22, 2010. Matter voluntarily dismissed with prejudice on May 19, 2010, as the parties had "agreed to settle the matter by a written agreement." No answer from the defendant apparent from the docket.
- Righthaven LLC v. Vegas Marketing Group, et al., Case No. 2:10-cv-0600-RCJ-RJJ (D. Nev.) (J. Gloria M. Navarro) -- filed April 27, 2010. Stipulation of voluntary dismissal with prejudice entered on January 11, 2011, stating that the parties had "resolved their differences" and requested the Court to retain jurisdiction to enforce the terms of the settlement agreement.
- Righthaven LLC v. Industrial Wind Action Corp., et al., Case No. 2:10-cv-601-RLH-PAL (D. Nev.) (J. Roger L. Hunt) -- filed April 27, 2010. Court denies defendants' motion to dismiss on September 24, 2010, concluding that the Court had personal jurisdiction. The Court's Order notes that the motion to dismiss was originally also based on, in part, lack of subject matter jurisdiction but defendants later withdrew that ground. Stipulation of voluntary dismissal with prejudice entered on January 6, 2011, stating that the parties had "resolved their differences."
- Righthaven LLC v. KillerFrogs.com Inc., Case No. 2:10-cv-0635-LDG-PAL (D. Nev.) (J. Lloyd D. George) -- filed May 4, 2010. Stipulation of voluntary dismissal with prejudice entered on July 14, 2010, stating that the parties had entered into a settlement agreement on or about July 7, 2010. According to the docket, defendant filed a motion to dismiss for lack of subject matter and personal jurisdiction but it appears the motion was never resolved.
- Righthaven LLC v. Citizens for Responsibility & Ethics in Washington, Inc., Case No. 2:10-cv-00485-KJD-RJJ (D. Nev.) (J. Kent J. Dawson) -- filed April 7, 2010. Matter voluntarily dismissed with prejudice on May 19, 2010, as the parties had "agreed to settle the matter by a written agreement."
- Righthaven LLC v. Dr. Shezad Malik Law Firm P.C., Case No. 2:10-cv-0636-RLH-RJJ (D. Nev.) (J. Roger L. Hunt) -- filed May 4, 2010. Court denies defendant's motion to dismiss on September 2, 2010, concluding that "the assignment in question . . . clearly assigns both the exclusive copyright ownership, together with accrued causes of action, i.e., infringements past, present and future" and, thus, Righthaven had standing to sue, at least based on the allegations in the complaint. Stipulation of dismissal with prejudice entered on November 2, 2010.
- Righthaven LLC v. Progressive Leadership Alliance of Nevada, et al., Case No. 2:10-cv-00637-RLH-RJJ (D. Nev.) (J. Roger L. Hunt) -- filed May 4, 2010. Matter voluntarily dismissed with prejudice on February 11, 2011, as the parties had "agreed to settle the matter by a written agreement."
- Righthaven LLC v. Wooden, Case No. 2:10-cv-00692-LRH-LRL (D. Nev.) (J. Larry R. Hicks) -- filed May 13, 2010. Stipulation of voluntary dismissal with prejudice entered on August 11, 2010, stating that the parties had entered into a settlement agreement on or about July 15, 2010.
- Righthaven LLC v. Enterprise Funding, LLC, et al., Case No. 2:10-cv-0706-GMN-RJJ (D. Nev.) (J. Gloria M. Navarro) -- filed May 14, 2010. Matter voluntarily dismissed with prejudice on June 7, 2010, as the parties had "agreed to settle the matter by a written agreement."
- Righthaven LLC v. Real Money Sports, Inc., et al., Case No. 2:10-cv-0734-PMP-RJJ (D. Nev.) (J. Philip M. Pro) -- filed May 19, 2010. Matter voluntarily dismissed with prejudice on June 24, 2010, as the parties had "agreed to settle the matter by a written agreement."
- Righthaven LLC v. Portside, Inc., et al., Case No. 2:10-cv-0740-RLH-PAL (D. Nev.) (J. Roger L. Hunt) -- filed May 19, 2010. Matter voluntarily dismissed with prejudice on July 19, 2010, as the parties had "agreed to settle the matter by a written agreement."
Continued....