Comment Re:Comparable to... (Score 2) 158
Remember, we're talking about civil suits here, where the burden of proof is "preponderance of evidence," not "beyond a reasonable doubt" as it is in a criminal proceeding. Even if you have an open WiFi hotspot, it's not enough to show that somebody else could have used it. In order to win with that defense, you'd have to show that somebody else probably did leach off your connection and download whatever it was. In this case, the judge ruled that the fact that the plaintiffs knew what physical location was using the IP address in question didn't give sufficient probable cause for a warrant. Without a warrant, they can't get any evidence to use in court, so this suit is probably dead in the water.