Righthaven Misses Another Appeals Deadline; Failed to Pay Sanctions Ordered Last Summer

According to a recent VEGAS INC article, Righthaven failed to file its opening brief with the 10th U.S. District Court of Appeals in Denver in the case involving Leland Wolf and his It Makes Sense Blog. The brief was due February 22. The 10th Circuit court clerk has extended the deadline to March 5 and warned Righthaven that it would dimiss the appeal if the document isn’t filed by then.

This is hardly the first time Righthaven has failed to file court documentation in a timely matter. The kicker is that this case -- as well as the Gary Newman case -- are both appeals cases brought by Righthaven. On December 28, 2011, Righthaven saw the Newman case thrown out by the 9th U.S. District Ciruit Court of Appeals after Righthaven missed a "procedural deadline."

Separately, the article also notes that Righthaven never paid that $5,000 fine imposed by Judge Hunt last July. The charge was made by Kurt Opsahl, an attorney for the EFF, who has been reviewing Righthaven bank records in hopes of collecting over $100,000 in fees it was awarded after successfully representing defendant Thomas DiBiase. Opsahl also charged in Monday's filing:

"A sanction payable only by Righthaven would not be an effective form of coercion," Opsahl wrote in his court filing. "Righthaven already owes Mr. DiBiase over $120,000, but has refused to pay a single penny. Righthaven has already been sanctioned $5,000 by Judge Roger Hunt. As with this court’s other judgments and orders, Righthaven ignored Judge Hunt’s sanctions order."

Indicating that CEO Steve Gibson ought to be held personally liable for court imposed sanctions.

See: VEGAS INC article in full