Labels' Motion For Leave To File Summary Judgment Motion
Labels' Motion For Leave To File Summary Judgment Motion
DISTRICT OF OREGON
PORTLAND DIVISION
Defendants.
LANE POWELL PC
601 SW SECOND AVENUE, SUITE 2100
708816.0001/831019.2 PORTLAND, OREGON 97204-3158
503.778.2100 FAX: 503.778.2200
Case 3:07-cv-00934-BR Document 180 Filed 01/27/2010 Page 2 of 11
LLC (formerly Capitol Records, Inc.), UMG Recordings, Inc., Arista Music (formerly BMG
Music), and Recording Industry Association of America (collectively the “Record Companies”)
respectfully seek leave to move for summary judgment under Rule 56(c) on Plaintiff Tanya
Andersen’s surviving claims of abuse of legal process, negligence, and civil conspiracy. As
demonstrated below, the record demonstrates no genuine issue as to any material fact and the
I. INTRODUCTION
From inception, Ms. Andersen has sought to challenge the Record Companies’ legitimate
efforts to protect their copyrights and deter infringement. By collecting evidence of infringement
and filing lawsuits, the Record Companies sought to reduce peer-to-peer (“P2P”) file sharing of
their copyrighted music. The Record Companies originally sued Ms. Andersen as part of that
legitimate and purposeful program. Her claims against the Record Companies challenged both
their pre-litigation activities in gathering and filing suit and their litigation conduct. The Court’s
Noerr-Pennington ruling, holding that the Record Companies had probable cause to sue
Ms. Andersen for copyright infringement, significantly narrowed the case to claims regarding the
Record Companies’ litigation conduct. These remaining claims, for abuse of process and
negligence under Oregon law, were such an afterthought that Ms. Andersen sought no
information about them in two years of discovery. The Record Companies respectfully request
leave to seek summary judgment on these remaining clams. Leaving aside her unsupportable
hyperbole, the undisputed evidence shows that the Record Companies are entitled to judgment as
a matter of law.
Ms. Andersen bases her surviving claims on the allegation that the Record Companies
continued to pursue their case against her after supposedly learning that the “real” infringer was
someone else. The record, however, belies that assertion. Even at the time the Record
Companies dismissed their case voluntarily, the Record Companies had significant evidence that
Ms. Andersen’s Internet address, 4.401.209.23, had been used for infringement. They had no
evidence that anyone except Ms. Andersen was responsible for the infringement.
Ms. Andersen’s Internet Service Provider, Verizon, confirmed three separate times that
Ms. Andersen was responsible for the Internet address through which the infringement occurred.
Moreover, Ms. Andersen undisputedly had a version of the KaZaA file-sharing software
Ms. Andersen repeatedly claims that the “real” infringer was a Washington resident who
used the screen name “Gotenkito” on the social networking site MySpace. Ms. Andersen,
however, has no evidence to support her theory and cannot explain why Verizon repeatedly
confirmed that the infringement came from Ms. Andersen’s Internet address. The evidence of
infringement that the Record Companies meticulously gathered pointed only to Ms. Andersen,
Ms. Andersen also charges the Record Companies with “discovery abuse.” Oregon does
not recognize such a cause of action based on use of regular discovery processes but, even if it
did, the record shows the Record Companies only pursued limited and court-authorized
discovery. They examined the hard drive of Ms. Andersen’s computer, which the discovery
rules authorize and which she herself urged them to do. They also propounded tailored written
discovery and took depositions of people who Ms. Andersen indicated had relevant information.
Ms. Andersen’s particular complaint is that the Record Companies took a short,
telephonic deposition of her daughter, Kylee. Ms. Andersen’s own Rule 26(a)(1) disclosures,
however, identified Kylee as a person with relevant information whom Ms. Andersen might call
as a witness. Ms. Andersen objected to the deposition, but the Court ordered that the deposition
proceed subject to certain limitations with which the Record Companies complied. No cases in
Oregon or elsewhere hold it tortious for a party with Court authorization to take the deposition of
These facts are not and cannot be disputed. None of them remotely show that the Record
show that the Record Companies owed Ms. Andersen a duty or caused her harm that is
cognizable under Oregon negligence law. For these reasons, discussed in more detail below, the
Record Companies seek leave to file a motion for summary judgment on her remaining claims.
II. ARGUMENT
A. The Record Companies Should Be Granted Leave To File For Summary Judgment
With Respect To The Remaining Claims.
Summary judgment avoids unnecessary trials when there is no dispute as to the facts.
Zweig v. Hearst Corp., 521 F.2d 1129, 1136 (9th Cir. 1975). In furtherance of that goal, district
courts have discretion to entertain successive motions for summary judgment. Mason v.
University & Cmty. College Sys., 265 Fed. Appx. 585, 587-88 (9th Cir. 2007) (unpublished)
(citing Knox v. Southwest Airlines, 124 F.3d 1103, 1105-06 (9th Cir. 1997)).
Here, the Court made clear at the outset of the case that it wanted to address the parties’
claims and defenses efficiently, including by splitting them up if necessary. (Tr. of Feb. 13,
2008 Hr’g at 64:13-17, Ex. B to Mehrbani Decl.) The Court’s prior scheduling orders expressly
contemplated the Record Companies’ moving for summary judgment on the merits after
resolution of the Noerr-Pennington issue. Indeed, after the Record Companies filed their Noerr-
Pennington motion, the Court set a schedule pursuant to which the Record Companies could file
a second motion addressed to the merits of Ms. Andersen’s claims after the close of discovery.
(See Sched. Order of June 23, 2009, Doc. No. 136.) At the parties’ joint request, the Court
subsequently continued the deadline pending resolution of the Noerr-Pennington issue. (See
Doc. No. 158.) Thus, there is no procedural bar to granting the Record Companies leave to
pursue summary judgment; to the contrary, the Court contemplated this step as part of its
accomplish an ulterior purpose when the procedure is commenced in proper form and with
probable cause.” Kelly v. McBarron, 482 P.2d 187, 190 (Or. 1971). It “involves the use of the
process as a club by which to extort something unrelated to the process from the other party.”
Clausen v. Carstens, 730 P.2d 604, 608 (Or. App. 1986). In addition to proving some improper,
ulterior purpose, a plaintiff also must prove both “a willful act in the use of the process not
proper in the regular conduct of the proceeding,” and “an actual arrest or seizure of person or
property.” Acro-Tech, Inc. v. Robert Jackson Family Trust, 2001 U.S. Dist. LEXIS 14445,
at *22-23 (D. Or. Sept. 6, 2001). Ms. Andersen can put forth no facts, beyond unsupported
First, no evidence exists that the Record Companies had an ulterior purpose in bringing
their lawsuit against Ms. Andersen. Ms. Andersen alleges that the Record Companies’ ulterior
purpose was to “intimidate” her and the public in order to maintain “monopolistic control over
the world’s market for the distribution of sound recordings.” (Compl. ¶ 8.18.) Apart from the
lack of any evidentiary support, this allegation is, at best, an of acknowledgment that the Record
Companies owned valuable copyrights and had the right to defend them against infringement.
See F. W. Woolworth Co. v. Contemporary Arts, Inc., 344 U.S. 228, 233 (1952) (copyright
actions serve to compel “reparation for injury” and “to discourage wrongful conduct”). The
Record Companies sued Ms. Andersen to protect their copyrights and deter infringement.
In rejecting claims virtually identical to Ms. Andersen’s, another court recently held that
it cannot be an abuse of process “to enforce precisely the rights created by Congress.” Capitol
Records, Inc. v. Alaujan, No. 1:03-cv-11661 (D. Mass. June 15, 2009) (minute order) (attached
as Ex. C to Mehrbani Decl.); see also Interscope Records v. Duty, 2006 U.S. Dist. LEXIS 20214,
at *13-14 (D. Ariz. April 14, 2006) (“[I]t is not an abuse of the legal process if the Recording
Companies’ goal in bringing these actions is to scare would-be infringers into complying with
federal law.”); Atlantic Recording Corp. v. Heslep, 2007 U.S. Dist. LEXIS 35824, at *16 (N.D.
Tex. May 16, 2007) (“[O]ur government has chosen to leave the enforcement of copyrights, for
the most part, in the hands of the copyright holder [and the] right to come to court to protect
one’s property rights has been recognized in this country since its birth.”).
Ms. Andersen also contends that the Record Companies tried to coerce her into “making
an undeserved payment of money and/or abandoning her legal rights.” (Compl. ¶ 8.19.) This
Ms. Andersen never settled the case and, as such, she cannot be heard to complain of extortion or
coercion that failed to accomplish its alleged objective. Beyond that, the law encourages parties
to settle their differences as opposed to litigating them. The law also provides that “maintaining
a lawsuit for the [alleged] ulterior purpose of continuing litigation as a lever to obtain a
settlement is not an improper motive and would not demonstrate any ulterior purpose other than
resolution or settlement of the suit which is an acceptable use of process.” Hampton v. Nustar
Mgmt. Fin. Group, 2007 U.S. Dist. LEXIS 2072, at *8 (D. Nev. Jan. 8, 2007) (applying Nevada
law); see also Reis v. Walker, 491 F.3d 868, 870 (8th Cir. 2007) (filing a lawsuit “or adding a
claim to gain leverage for a settlement, or in the expectation of a settlement, is not an abuse of
that process”) (applying Iowa law); Grabinski v. National Union Fire Ins. Co., 2005 U.S. Dist.
LEXIS 21946, at *15 (D. Ariz. Sept. 23, 2005) (the purpose of inducing settlement, in and of
itself, cannot be an abuse of process because “the purpose of settlement is includable in the goals
of proper process”) (applying Arizona law), rev’d on other grounds, 265 Fed. Appx. 633 (9th
Cir. 2008); Bayer AG v. Sony Elecs., 229 F. Supp. 2d 332, 368-369 (D. Del. 2002) (pursuit of
Second, Ms. Andersen cannot show, and does not even allege, that the Record
Companies engaged in “a willful act in the use of the process not proper in the regular conduct of
the proceeding.” Acro-Tech, 2001 U.S. Dist. LEXIS 14445, at *22. The Record Companies
deposed a number of witnesses, all of whom Ms. Andersen identified as having relevant
information, including her daughter. (See Ex. A to Mehrbani Decl..) This action is entirely
consistent with the regular course of litigation. Ms. Andersen’s allegation that the Record
Companies tried to contact Kylee directly is not true, has no factual support in the record, and, in
any event, has nothing to do with the use of any process.1 (Compl. ¶ 8.24.)
Likewise, Ms. Andersen’s complaint that the Record Companies should have pursued the
person she contends was the “real” infringer — a Washington resident who used the “Gotenkito”
user name on MySpace — has no support in the record. Ms. Andersen pins her entire theory on
the similarity of this person’s user name on MySpace to the KaZaA user name that MediaSentry
detected distributing copyrighted music on KaZaA. But that theory has no objective proof. The
relevant evidence in the record is Verizon’s three separate confirmations that the Internet address
Third, Ms. Andersen does not and cannot allege that she suffered an arrest or seizure of
property which under Oregon law, by itself, requires dismissal of her abuse of process claim.
See Arco-Tech, Inc., 2001 U.S. Dist. LEXIS 14445, *22-23; Roberts v. Jefferson Cty, 1999 U.S.
Dist. LEXIS 20913, *17 (D. Or. Oct. 5, 1999); Lee v. Mitchell, 953 P.2d 414, 427 (Or. App.
1998); Reynolds v. Givens, 695 P.2d 946, 949 (Or. App. 1985); Brood v. Davis, 601 P.2d 487,
Fourth, the law does not permit abuse of process claims relating only to the maintenance
of a lawsuit after it has been filed. On the contrary, it is well established that the “mere * * *
maintenance of a lawsuit — even for an improper purpose — is not a proper basis for an abuse
of process action.” Lunsford v. American Guar. & Liab. Ins. Co., 18 F.3d 653, 655 (9th Cir.
1994) (internal quotations omitted). Specifically, and as a matter of law, even if Ms. Andersen
could prove “bad intentions” by the Record Companies, which she cannot, “there is no liability
1
Ms. Andersen’s allegation that “phone calls were made” to Kylee’s school (Compl. ¶ 8.25)
should be ignored because Ms. Andersen does not attribute the calls to the Record Companies or
to anyone acting on their behalf. Neither the Record Companies nor anyone acting on their
behalf made such calls and Ms. Andersen does not allege otherwise. These alleged calls,
moreover, also have nothing to do with the use of any judicial process.
where the defendant [has] done nothing more than carry out the process to its authorized
conclusion.” See Larsen v. Credit Bureau, 568 P.2d 657, 658 (Or. 1977).
Finally, Noerr-Pennington immunity extends to the maintenance of a lawsuit, not only its
initiation. Ms. Andersen cannot prove that, at any point in time, the Record Companies’ belief
that she committed copyright infringement was either unreasonable or unsupported by probable
cause. Therefore, she cannot maintain her remaining abuse of process and negligence claims.
See IGEN International Inc. v. Roche, 335 F.3d 303, 310, 312 (4th Cir. 2003); Krasnyi Oktyabr,
Inc. v. Trilini Imps., 578 F. Supp. 2d 455, 475 (E.D.N.Y. 2008); Matushita Elecs. Corp. v. Loral
Corp., 974 F. Supp. 345, 357 (S.D.N.Y. 1997).
C. The Record Companies Are Entitled To Judgment As A Matter Of Law On
Ms. Andersen’s Claim Of Negligence.
1. Most of Ms. Andersen’s negligence theories do not survive the Court’s Noerr-
Pennington ruling. Ms. Andersen’s Fourth Amended Complaint asserts four negligence
theories: (1) Negligence Per Se/Vicarious Liability of RIAA and Record Companies; (2) Direct
Negligence of RIAA and Record Companies – Heightened Duty; (3) Direct Negligence of RIAA
and Record Companies – General Duty; and (4) Direct Negligence of Settlement Support Center
– General Duty. (Compl. at ¶¶ 33-36.) Three of these theories have been dismissed because
¶ 8.34.) This claim relates exclusively to conduct that led the Record Companies to file a
Similarly, her second negligence theory relates to MediaSentry’s alleged “criminal and
flawed private investigation scheme.” (Compl. ¶¶ 8.37-8.38.) The Court, however, rejected this
assertion; and therefore, it cannot be the basis of a negligence claim. (Doc. No. 176 at 4.)
Ms. Andersen’s fourth negligence theory relates to the allegedly “false and misleading”
communications between the Settlement Support Center (“SSC”) and Ms. Andersen. (Compl.
¶ 8.45.) The Court must discard this theory because SSC had no involvement in the litigation
against Ms. Andersen and, as such, their conduct is no longer at issue in the case.
Accordingly, only Ms. Andersen’s third negligence theory, alleging that the Record
Companies owed her a “general duty,” survived the Court’s Noerr-Pennington ruling. That
claim, however, fails on its merits. Ms. Andersen supports this third theory on two allegations:
(1) the Record Companies were negligent in “prosecuting baseless sham litigation against
Plaintiff,” and (2) the Record Companies were negligent in failing to “properly investigate the
true identity of ‘Gotenkito’ after his true identity was known to them.” (Compl. ¶¶ 8.42(f) and
(g).) Aside from having no evidentiary support, these allegations fail to support a claim for
interest. In Oregon, negligence requires proof that , inter alia, the defendant’s conduct caused a
foreseeable risk of harm to an interest of a kind that the law protects against negligent invasion.
Solberg v. Johnson, 760 P.2d 867, 870 (Or. 1988); see also Fazzolari v. Portland Sch. Dist.
No. 1J, 734 P.2d 1326, 1335 (Or. 1987) ([“T]he issue of liability for harm actually resulting from
foreseeable risk to a protected interest of the kind of harm that befell the plaintiff.”).
In her complaint, Ms. Andersen alleges that the Record Companies owed her a “general
duty,” which she defined as a duty to act “reasonably, responsibly and legally” to avoid causing
foreseeable harm. (Compl. ¶ 8.41.) If Ms. Andersen contends that this “general duty” imposes
some obligation different from the standard articulated in Solberg, Oregon law does not support
it. Moreover, the Record Companies satisfied any obligation they had as litigants protecting
their copyrights. They acted reasonably in investigating their case against Ms. Andersen and her
Moreover, Ms. Andersen cannot show harm to any legally protected interest. In
particular, Ms. Andersen’s alleged emotional harm is not compensable under Oregon law.
Oregon adheres to the common law “impact rule,” which bars negligence actions for emotional
injuries unless the plaintiff also sustained a physical impact or injury due to the defendant’s
alleged conduct. Hammond v. Central Lane Commc’n Ctr., 816 P.2d 593, 597 (Or. 1991)
(affirming summary judgment against the plaintiff who produced no evidence of any physical
impact or injury on grounds that she had not shown harm to any “‘legally protected interest’”)
(quoting Fazzolari, 734 P.2d at 1335); see also Lowe v. Philip Morris USA, Inc., 142 P.3d 1079,
1087 (Or. Ct. App. 2006) (noting the “default position” in Oregon “that present, physical harm is
the sine qua non of negligence liability.”). Here, Ms. Andersen alleges only emotional damages.
(Compl. ¶¶ 7.25, 7.26, 8.43.) She does not and could not allege any physical impact or injury
from either the Record Companies’ pursuit of their lawsuit against her or any alleged failure to
investigate. Absent physical impact or injury, Ms. Andersen cannot show harm to any legally
protected interest and her negligence claim fails. In limited situations, Oregon law may permit
recovery for emotional harm when the defendant’s conduct infringes some “legal right of the
plaintiff independent of an ordinary tort claim for negligence.” Hammond, 816 P.2d at 596; see
also Nearing v. Weaver, 670 P.2d 137, 140, 140 n.4 (Or. 1983) (listing legally protected interests
such as “interference with use and enjoyment of land” and “conversion of personal property”).
Ms. Andersen has not and could not allege that the Record Companies violated any legal right
independent of her tort claim for negligence. For this reason, too, she cannot sustain her
2
In this regard, the Record Companies asked Verizon to check its records regarding the owner of
the relevant Internet address. They confirmed that it was assigned to Ms. Andersen. Further, the
Record Companies also contacted the individual in Washington State who denied any
involvement and denied having ever visited Ms. Andersen’s residence.
Any effort by Ms. Andersen to seek recovery for economic damages would also be
barred. Under Oregon law, a plaintiff cannot sustain a claim for economic harm absent a special
duty of care. Oregon Steel Mills, Inc. v. Coopers & Lybrand, LLP, 83 P.3d 322, 328 (Or. 2004).
Even where it is reasonably foreseeable that a plaintiff would suffer economic loss as a
consequence of a defendant’s actions, “that fact is not sufficient to state a negligence claim”
without demonstrating a special duty. Loosli v. City of Salem, 193 P.3d 623, 625 (Or. 2007).
The Oregon Supreme Court has described relationships that may carry a special duty as those in
which a party who owes a duty of care t act “at least in part * * * to further the economic
interests of the ‘client,’ the person owed the duty of care.” Conway v. Pacific Univ., 924 P.2d
818, 824 (Or. 1995). As noted above, Ms. Andersen claims only that the Record Companies
owed her a general duty of care, not a special duty. And, quite apart from the allegations,
Plaintiff has no evidence to support the notion that the Record Companies could ever have owed
her, a litigation adversary, any duty at all, much less a “special duty.” 3
III. CONCLUSION
For the foregoing reasons, the Record Companies respectfully seek leave to file a motion
for summary judgment under Rule 56(c) as to Ms. Andersen’s remaining claims for relief.
By s/ Parna A. Mehrbani
Kenneth R. Davis, II, OSB No. 971132
William T. Patton, OSB No. 973646
Parna A. Mehrbani, OSB No. 053235
(503) 778-2100
3
Ms. Andersen also alleges a claim of civil conspiracy, but a “claim for civil conspiracy is
entirely dependent on underlying” substantive claims; where “the underlying claims fail, [the]
civil conspiracy claim must also fail.” Oregon Laborers-Employers Health & Welfare Trust
Fund v. Phillip Morris, 185 F.3d 957, 969 (9th Cir. 1999). Because each of Ms. Andersen’s
substantive claims fail, so too must her civil conspiracy claim.