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FAQ for Bittorrent Cases: Or, “I got a letter from my
ISP and…”
9. What’s
this about a Motion to Quash?
A motion to quash may or may not be successful.
To
even attempt to defend yourself at this
stage might not be the most economical use of your dollars.
To locate an attorney to file a motion to
quash, you should find one that is close to the area where the action
is
filed.
If you choose to ignore the
right to file a motion to quash, you should hire a local attorney to
represent
you.
The poker analogy:
The Plaintiff’s lawyer is sitting at
the card table. If you are Doe #41 of a
total of 261 Does it
means that the lawyer assumes you will be one of the people joining his
poker
game. He has 261 empty chairs, has 261
decks of cards, and has dealt 261 hands of five cards to each person.
For those familiar with poker, the
Plaintiff’s lawyer would
be the house. House odds can be
calculated or approximated based upon the reputation of the lawyer, and
their
past mistakes and successes. For those
familiar with the actual statistics of poker, and how often cards come
up, the
house always plays like they have two pair.
They believe they only have a 3% chance of losing before you
ever show
up. So, they’re pretty sure you’re going
to lose. This is why they are
comfortable raising you in the first demand letter, when they tell you
that if
you don’t respond by a certain timeframe, you will owe them more.
Filing a motion to quash makes the house angry, because they
have to bet again before you even sit down at the table.
They have two pair, they will likely win, and
they believe you have nothing.
It causes
them extra work, it causes them headaches in the court, and sometimes,
it is a
good idea because it is effective, and other times it is not.
An attorney should always be contacted
regarding filing one of these motions.
Hiring
an attorney so that you don’t have to attend the poker game can be
costly.
The other option is to willingly sit down at the table,
identify yourself, and state that you’re willing to play the game. In other words, you are showing up at the
poker table, and then immediately raising them. If
they want to see your cards, it is going to
cost them. They have 260 other games
going….statistically it is better for them to fold on your game, and
move on to the others. If you win your case, they will end up paying your attorney.
To end
the analogy with the straightforward explanation, it will cost a Plaintiffs lawyer quite a
bit to see if you actually have downloaded these materials or not.
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