Does it sound like the justice system should be used this way?
- Yesterday's hearing also featured look at what it's like to be sued.
Lorraine Sullivan said she found out she was being sued when she played her home voice mail on Sept. 9 and it contained messages from four reporters, asking her for reaction.
She called the RIAA and was referred to Patricia Benson, a lawyer for Los Angeles's Mitchell Silberberg & Knupp LLP, one of the RIAA's outside law firms. Sullivan testified that Benson told her it would probably cost between $3,000 and $4,000 to settle the suit, and that "nobody likes having to be the heavy."
Sullivan told Benson that she had $1,500 in her savings account and was a student with a part-time job. Sullivan said the lawyer asked her if she could get the money from her parents. No, Sullivan, replied. Anyone else? No, Sullivan said.
Benson finally asked: Do you have credit cards? Yes, Sullivan said, but they're almost maxed out. Benson said she would ask the RIAA to accept a lesser payment. Two days later, Sullivan said she agreed to settle for $2,500.
"I won't be buying any more" CDs, she testified.
"What will it take to make this go way?"
"How much you got? We'll take it all."
UPDATE
More from USA Today:
- Coleman said he remained worried about the "heavy-handedness" of the lawsuits, which carried fines of up to $150,000 for each song shared from their hard drives. When asked whether the fines were excessive, Bainwol said they got consumers' attention and established a deterrent. "Public floggings would get attention, too, but we don't do that," Coleman responded.
University of Virginia ethicist Jonathan Moreno testified the fines "are way out of proportion," and laws need to be updated.
Despite the lawsuits, attitudes may be tough to change. In a Gallup Poll out Tuesday, 83% of teens said it's morally acceptable to download music from the Net for free.
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