Straight to Hollywood

BusinessWeek trae una historia que está a punto caramelo para transformarse en un guión cinematográfico: Tanya Andersen es una madre soltera peleando contra la avaricia de las compañías discográficas...

After being sued by the music industry for stealing songs and winning the case's dismissal, Andersen is now taking the record industry to court. Her case is aimed at exposing investigative practices that are controversial and may be illegal, according to the lawsuit. One company hired by the record industry, she claims, snoops through people's computers, uncovering private files and photos, even though it has no legal right to do so. A different industry-backed company uses tactics similar to those of debt collectors, pressuring people to pay thousands of dollars in settlements even before any wrongdoing is proven. In Andersen's case, the industry's Settlement Support Center said that unless she paid $4,000 to $5,000 immediately, it would "ruin her financially," the suit alleges.

Andersen is going after the recording industry under conspiracy laws. She argues the Recording Industry Association of America, the industry's trade group, and its affiliates worked together on a broad campaign to intimidate people into making financial payoffs. The defendants "secretly met and conspired" to develop a "litigation enterprise" with the ultimate goal of preserving the major record companies' control over the music business. Andersen is requesting class action status for her case, seeking at least $5 million in compensation for the class.

Muchas dosis de suspenso...

For the first time, Andersen was scared. She tried to e-mail a contact listed in the letter and called the law firm. A few days later her phone rang. "Ms. Andersen, I am calling to discuss settlement," she recalls the person on the other end of the line saying. "Settlement of what?" she responded. The man explained he was calling from the Settlement Support Center as a representative of the RIAA. He had information that she had been caught sharing songs online. To avoid a lawsuit, she would have to pay $4,000 or $5,000, he said. "You're going to have to pay us, or this won't go away," she says he told her.

Y villanos...

The SSC made its collections by hiring people such as Mark Eilers, an ex-police officer. He called Andersen repeatedly in February and March, she says, reiterating the demand that she pay thousands of dollars. Over the course of the calls. Eilers told her she had shared 1,288 songs on May 20, 2004, at 4:24 a.m. under the screen name Gotenkito. She maintained they had the wrong person and offered to let them look at her computer. She says Eilers told her Verizon had already verified that the illegal activity had come from her home, specified by what's known as an IP (for Internet Protocol) address. Andersen asked to speak with the record industry's lawyers and get a copy of the information they had about her. Eilers said no to both requests, says Andersen. Eilers, who no longer works for the industry, says he doesn't recall speaking with Andersen.

Obviamente, también tenemos un héroe luchando en solitario...

Andersen quickly started looking for a lawyer. She searched the Net for a case like hers, although she wasn't sure how she would be able to pay someone on her $1,400 monthly disability check. One local Oregon lawyer suggested she accept a default guilty judgment and then declare bankruptcy. But Andersen had been through bankruptcy before, after her pregnancy with Kylee. She wasn't about to do it again.

Finally she called Lory R. Lybeck, a Seattle lawyer who was handling a similar case. They talked on the phone, then Lybeck sent one of his lawyers down to meet Andersen. "I said to myself, either she's a good actor and a good liar, or what they have done to her is really crummy," Lybeck says. He took the case on contingency, meaning he gets paid only if Andersen collects damages from the recording industry.

Lybeck is a compact 52-year-old with a brawler's attitude. He spent the early part of his legal career at a large litigation firm representing companies such as Chrysler, and in 1992, he set up his own two-person shop. Since then, he has gone after major corporations and government institutions for alleged wrongdoing. "I dislike arrogant bullies," Lybeck says.

Coming soon...