Submission + - Granny Sues RIAA for Using Unlicensed Investigator 1
NewYorkCountryLawyer writes: "An elderly, non-filesharing grandmother from East Texas, who had been sued by the RIAA after being displaced by Hurricane Rita, has sought leave to file counterclaims against the RIAA record companies for using unlicensed investigators. In her counterclaims (pdf) Ms. Crain claims that the record companies "entered into an agreement with a private investigations company to provide investigative services which led to the production of evidence to be used in court against counterclaim plaintiff, including the identification of an IP address on the basis of which counterclaim defendants filed their suit.... [They] were at the time of this agreement aware that the aforementioned private investigations company was unlicensed to conduct investigations in the State of Texas specifically, and in other states as well.....[T]hey agreed between themselves and understood that unlicensed and unlawful investigations would take place in order to provide evidence for this lawsuit, as well as thousands of others as part of a mass litigation campaign....[T]he private investigations company hired by plaintiffs engaged in one or more overt acts of unlawful private investigation.... Such actions constitute civil conspiracy under Texas common law. Ins. Co. of North America v. Morris, 981 S.W.2d 667, 675 (Tex. 1998).""
