On Monday, U.S. District Judge Philip Pro signed an order requiring Righthaven to pay attorney's fees and costs to defendant Wayne Hoehn, who is represented by Randazza Legal Group. The amount awarded by Pro is $34,045.50 and must be paid no later than September 14, 2011. On July 5, U.S. District Judge Gloria Navarro ordered Righthaven to pay attorney's fees for defendant Michael Leon, also represented by Randazza Legal Group. –Kudos to some great lawyering by this group!
Former Defendant Michael Leon
Leon's blog, MAL Contends, posted about this news and offers additional details:
In this case, the Court finds that Defendant Hoehn is the prevailing party and the attorney’s fees and costs sought on his behalf are reasonable and supported by Defendant’s Memorandum of Law and the Affidavit of J. Malcolm Devoy, Esq.See: Judge Pro's order in full
IT IS THEREFORE ORDERED that Defendant Hoehn’s Motion for Attorney’s Fees and Costs (Doc. #32) is GRANTED, and that Plaintiff Righthaven, shall not later than September 14, 2011 pay to Defendant Wayne Hoehn the sum of $34,045.50 as and for reasonable attorney’s fees and costs.
Former Defendant Michael Leon
Leon's blog, MAL Contends, posted about this news and offers additional details:
Congratulations are in order for Vietnam War veteran, Wayne Hoehn (Recon Company, E 2/12, 12th Cavalry Regiment (1969-70)), who won another major First Amendment victory over Internet troll, Righthaven LLC today.See: Blog post in full
It was announced today in the United States District Court, District of Nevada that Hoehn was awarded $34,045 in attorneys' fees and costs...
Free Speech Advocate Ken Bingham
Free speech advocate Ken Bingham also posted about this news at his OneUtah blog:
Chock up another win for the amazing Randazza Legal Group. U.S. District Judge Philip Pro of Nevada ordered Righthaven to pay $34,045 in legal fees for war veteran Wayne Hoehn of Kentucky. Judge Pro also dismissed the case for lack of standing on Righthaven’s part and said even if Righthaven had standing Mr. Hoehn’s use of the Las Vegas Review Journal article was protected by fair use. Righthaven said they will appeal but they are already appealing several cases with no guarantee the appeals court will be anymore receptive than the lower courts.See: Blog post in full
VEGAS INC (The Heavy Lifters)
The heavy lifters over at VEGAS INC have of course posted about this news as well.
In yet another stunning reversal for Las Vegas copyright lawsuit filer Righthaven LLC, the company won’t be collecting any damages from a man it once branded as a copyright infringer.See: Related VEGAS INC article
Instead, it’s Righthaven that must pay the man's legal fees of $34,045.
As POed as I was in becoming a temporary but ultimately prevailing party to Righthaven's fraud operation, I am proud to have seen the work done on behalf of the First Amendment by J. Malcolm DeVoy IV and Marc J. Randazza of the Randazza Legal Group.
ReplyDeleteAnd that goes to you, Colleen, Ken and Wayne as well. Bet you if we all met, we would be one motley crew representing just about every hue on the political spectrum. And we all share a respect for the First Amendment, and the good will we see on these pages.
My thank you for your work!
Thanks Mal.
ReplyDeleteCongratulations Wayne Hoehn and the Randazza Legal Group for another victory. This one is going to hurt. Righthaven says they will appeal but they are racking up losses big time and appeals are very expensive and there is no reason to think the appeals courts are going to be anymore receptive than the lower courts.
So much for Gibson's dream of "quadrillions".
Congratulations to all involved. Hopefully as time goes on, there will be more judgments like this one.
ReplyDeleteNate
Righthaven Victim #25
This just keeps establishing precedent for new fee awards. Think EFF and their current amended fee of 199,250. This is 50k more than Righthaven can even THREATEN victims with!
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