…in its current form, Exhibit C is struck from the complaint in each of the above-captioned cases and counsel for plaintiff Malibu Media, Inc. is sanctioned $200 in each of the above captioned cases for a total of $2,200, to be paid to the clerk of court.

I recently wrote about one of the most exciting events in the combat against copyright trolls: on 9/10/13 Lipscomb’s local counsel in Illinois and Wisconsin, Mary K. Schulz , was sanctioned by Judge Conley for Lipscomb’s arrogant douchebaggery (and her own lack of moral compass):

For the reason yet unknown, Lipscomb divided his Midwestern turf into two parts. Prior to November 2012, the central US was terrorized by Paul Nicoletti alone. Currently, Illinois and Wisconsin are curated by Mary Katherine Schulz, and Nicoletti continues his racket in Michigan and Indiana.

Since then, Schulz helped Lipscomb in filing of 120 lawsuits, initially several-Doe ones (about a dozen Does each), but recently — only individual cases: 44 in ILND, 37 in ILCD, 28 in WIED, and 11 in WIWD. The latter group (those 11 cases) was the spot where the scythe hit a stone, and I believe that this is the beginning of Lipscom/Malibu shakedown campaign downfall.

It is not clear from the order wording if Schultz was sanctioned alone or Lipscomb was affected by the order too. Who exactly was slapped on the wrist is beyond the point anyway: the entire Malibu/Lipscomb shakedown machine was severely damaged. Regardless, Schulz has acquired some additional headaches.

In one of the ILDN cases (Malibu Media LLC v. John Doe, 13-cv-50287), District Judge Frederick J. Kapala issued a short and terse sua sponte order only five days after the complaint was filed:

Plaintiff is ordered to show cause in writing within the next 21 days why it, and its attorney, should not be sanctioned in accordance with Rule 11 for the same reasons set out by Judge Conley in the Western District of Wisconsin in that court’s case number 13-cv-205-wmc, et al.

…which means that the infamy of Malibu Media/Schulz/Lipscomb travels from courthouse to courthouse much faster than it used to.

Right after that order, Schulz became super-busy filing motions to seal the frivolous Exchibit C in Illinois and Wisconsin¹ cases:

As you see, this motion vaguely promises more detailed explanations and reiterates the same “arguments,” to which Judge Conley reacted so furiously:

Malibu Media’s denials do not pass the smell test, and any denial of improper motive by its counsel does not pass the laugh test.

I see it as a very desperate move, and obviously Judge Kapala² sees it too.

It. Won’t. Fly.

10/16/2013

On 10/15/2013 EFF (via attorneys Kurt Opsahl, Julie Samuels and Erin Russell) chimed in asking the Court to allow an amicus curiae brief. The proposed brief is attached:

Not much can be added… I agree with the following opinion on Twitter:

@DarkMoe3 @Raul15340965 @EFF well done. The only question is the extent to which MM will be sanctioned. Judge knows this is 2nd offense. — Zeno Elea (@Zenofyle) October 17, 2013

¹ I randomly checked the dockets: it seems that out of the three districts where Schulz trolls, she has been filing these motions only in ILND and WIED, but for some reason not in ILCD (I don’t mention WIWD, where Lipscomb is done, and ILSD is so far an uncharted territory for Malibu).

² Sadly, while some judges definitely talk to each other and their clerks are diligent, others seem to be busy and/or uninformed. At least in two cases in WIED (13-cv-00851 and 13-cv-00781), Magistrate Judges William E. Callahan and Nancy Joseph have granted motions to seal without much investigation.