New Convoluted Legal Situation Involving Righthaven Intensifies; Awaiting On Courts

In yet another "convoluted legal situation involving the Las Vegas-based copyright lawsuit filer," writes VEGAS INC, the struggle of who really controls Righthaven LLC lurches forward. After the court-appointed receiver, attorney Lara Pearson, moved to fire CEO Steve Gibson last week as well as ordering attorney Erik Syverson to stop acting on behalf of the "original" Righthaven, Syverson filed documents with the 9th U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals on Thursday on behalf of the entity anyway.

According to the same news article, Syverson will stand by, awaiting guidance from the court on how to proceed. Whether Judge Phillip Pro (who approved the receivership) or the 9th Circuit will resolve this new complicated situation involving Righthaven and Steve Gibson is unclear. What's at stake in this appeals case is if Righthaven had standing to sue Wayne Hoehn, who posted a Las Vegas Review-Journal editorial in full on a message board, and if Hoehn's posting was protected by fair use.

Judge Orders Righthaven to Forfeit 'All' Copyrights; New Auction Coming Soon

Judge Orders Failed Copyright Troll to Forfeit ‘All’ Copyrights

Righthaven, a copyright-troll law firm that failed in its attempt to make money for newspapers by suing readers for sharing stories online, was dealt a death blow Tuesday by a federal judge who ordered the Las Vegas company to forfeit “all of” its intellectual property and other “intangible property” to settle its debts.

The ruling involves prevailing defendant Wayne Hoehn, represented by Randazza Legal Group. In December, the legal group auctioned off Righthaven's domain name in hopes of raising money to help satisfy the legal bills Righthaven owes Hoehn. This same group will auction off the 278 surrendered copyrights. Attorney Marc Randazza responded to the irony of this: "Perhaps those who buy the copyrights could issue DMCA notices to the Review-Journal stopping them from redistributing them?"

See: Wired article in full | View: Order Transferring Intellectual Property

Righthaven is Finito; Judge Strips Bottom Feeding Group of Copyrights and Trademark

Judge Strips Righthaven of Rights to 278 Copyrights and Its Trademark

Like a gunfighter with no bullets, Las Vegas copyright company Righthaven LLC no longer has any copyrights to sue over.
A federal judge in Las Vegas on Monday stripped Righthaven of whatever interests it has in its 278 federal copyright registrations as well as its trademark.
Judge Philip Pro ordered that the copyrights and trademarks be transferred to a court-appointed receiver so they can be auctioned to cover some of Righthaven’s debts.

Isn't this a fine ending for our "little friend" called Righthaven? The legal outfit didn't have standing to sue before this ruling and now they don't even own the copyrights. This is it finito -- except for defendants seeking attorney fees and recovering damages. The ruling came Monday in the case of defendant Wayne Hoehn. Marc Randazza, a Las Vegas attorney representing Hoehn, said that Pro’s order wipes out Righthaven’s interest in all of its pending lawsuits and appeals -- "It moots them."

See: VEGAS INC article in full

Judge Allows Auction of Copyright Assets; Gibson and His Wife Must Appear in Court

U.S. District Judge Philip Pro signed an order today granting defendant Wayne Hoehn's motion to appoint a reciever to recover his legal costs. The receiver will be empowered to hold an auction to sell off Righthaven's copyrights, which may be Righthaven's only assets. The order was granted due to Righthaven's failure to file a response to the motion. In a related matter, U.S. Magistrate Judge Robert Johnston ordered Steve Gibson and his wife Raisha "Drizzle" Gibson to appear in court on January 5, 2012 to provide testimony under oath about the location of Righthaven's assets.

Pursuant to the Application of Wayne Hoehn for issuance of this Court’s Order Scheduling Judgment Debtor Examination before the magistrate judge under LR IB 1-9, and production of documents, and good cause shown, it is hereby ORDERED that Steven A. Gibson and Raisha “Drizzle” Y. Gibson shall personally appear before this Court on Jan. 5, 2012. Both representatives of Righthaven shall be examined with regard to the extent and location of Righthaven’s assets that may be available to Hoehn for the purpose of satisfying this Court’s Judgment (Doc. # 44) and Writ of Execution (Doc. # 59).

Attorneys representing Hoehn, Randazza Legal Group, seek to collect over $60,000 in legal fees awarded to them. Righthaven is currently in the hole for over $225,000 in legal fees and sanctions.

See: Order Granting Defendant's Application for Judgment Debtor Examination
See: Order Granting Auction by Judge Philip Pro
See: Related VEGAS INC article

Legal Fees Pay Date Looms for Righthaven; 'Nobody is Playing a Violin' for Them Either

The date for Righthaven to pay $34,000 dollars in legal fees to defendant Wayne Hoehn is Wednesday, September 14. Thus the emergency motion by Righthaven last Friday to stay U.S. District Judge Philip Pro’s order to pay the fees. In an article published by Wired today, Hoehn's attorney Marc Randazza of Randazza Legal Group said that Righthaven should hand over the fees. "Remember, it’s not like we sued them," Randazza said. He added, "Nobody is playing a violin for these guys."

It's unknown how Rigthaven can pursue multiple appeals and pay attorney Dale Cendali, a partner at Kirkland and Ellis. According to PaidContent.org, Kirkland was one of the first firms where some New York partners "broke the $1,000-per-hour billing ceiling a few years back." Righthaven is in a needy position to be sure. Yet it is of their own making, which has cost the financial and emotional suffering of at least 500 victims if one includes codefendants in Righthaven's 276 "no warning" lawsuits.

Judge Orders Righthaven to Pay Attorney's Fees to Defendant Wayne Hoehn (34k+)

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!

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.
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.

See: Judge Pro's order in full

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.
It was announced today in the United States District Court, District of Nevada that Hoehn was awarded $34,045 in attorneys' fees and costs...

See: Blog post in full

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.
Instead, it’s Righthaven that must pay the man's legal fees of $34,045.

See: Related VEGAS INC article

Righthaven Continues to Fight Attorney's Fees; Case Against UK Website Operator Dismissed

Righthaven Fighting Demand for Attorney’s Fees

U.S. District Court Judge Philip Pro in Las Vegas on June 20 found Kentucky resident Wayne Hoehn was protected by fair use in posting an entire Las Vegas Review-Journal column on a sports website discussion board; and that Righthaven didn’t have standing to sue over the post. Righthaven is appealing.
Hoehn’s attorneys, in the meantime, are seeking recovery of their $34,000 in fees, saying Hoehn stood up to what they called Righthaven’s bullying lawsuit tactics and won a victory for fair use and free speech.
-- snip --
U.S. District Judge James Mahan in Las Vegas dismissed a Righthaven lawsuit against Garry Newman, who is a resident of Great Britain and is associated with facepunch.com.

See: Related VEGAS INC article

Newman though, is still not free of Righthaven. Upon Mahan's dismissal of his case -- due to Righthaven's failure to respond by the deadline to Newman’s dismissal motion -- Righthaven responded with an emergency motion for reconsideration. In a separate case involving the R-J Vdara hotel "death ray" story, Mahan refused for a second time to dismiss a lawsuit against Azkar Choudhry and Pak.org. It is anticipated that Mahan will eventually dismiss that case based on lack of standing.

Dismissed for Lack of Standing; Defendant Entitled to Summary Judgment

Righthaven v. Wayne Hoehn

In the ongoing case of Righthaven defendant Wayne Hoehn, who is represented by Randazza Legal Group, U.S. District Judge Philip Pro has ordered the case dismissed due to lack of standing and has granted the defendant's motion for summary judgment. Hoehn was sued by Righthaven in January 2011 after posting an editorial in full (Public employee pensions - we can't afford them) to madjacksports.com, originally published by the Las Vegas Review-Journal.

See: Order to Dismiss: Righthaven v. Wayne Hoehn

Pro ruled that at the time of the posting, "Righthaven was not the owner of the Work, rather the Work was owned by Stephens Media." Pro then cites damning portions of the Strategic Alliance Agreement (SAA). Further on, he states: "The Court finds the SAA in its original form qualifies the Assignment with restrictions of rights of reversion, such that in the end, Righthaven is not left with ownership of any exclusive rights," and effectively, "does not have standing to bring a suit for infringement."

Judge Pro's ruling also denies that Righthaven's May 9 "clarification" to the SAA contract (pdf) was meaningful or significant, stating that, "It does not provide Righthaven with any exclusive rights necessary to bring suit." Pro adds, "The May 9, 2011, clarification provides Righthaven with only an illusory right to exploit or profit from the work, requiring 30 days advance notice to Stephens Media before being able to exploit the work for any purpose other than bringing an infringement action."

Lastly, the ruling states that the defendant is entitled to summary judgment -- a procedural device used during civil litigation to dispose of a case without a trial -- on the grounds of fair use. Pro states that Righthaven failed to present "an affidavit showing the specified reasons it needs to conduct discovery to oppose summary judgment, or, the types of facts it hopes to elicit, that these facts exist, and that these fact are necessary to oppose summary judgment." Pro denied additional discovery.

See: Related VEGAS INC article

Congratulations Wayne! Gold star lawyering Randazza Legal Group!