A grandmother targeted by the RIAA for file-sharing is striking back at the controversial music industry association, arguing that it has knowingly engaged in "one or more overt acts of unlawful private investigation" to further its case.

Ms. Crain, the defendant in an eight-month-old P2P lawsuit, had her fill of hot air when she escaped Hurricane Rita. When Mother Nature was bested by yet another "RIAA vs. Grandma" lawsuit, she decided it was time to strike back.

Crain says that she'd never even heard of file sharing before she was named in the suit, so when the RIAA came looking for a $4,500 payout, Ms. Crain lawyeredup and filed a counterclaim against the RIAA. The whole ball of wax is Sony vs. Crain, filed in Texas.

It has now come to light that the case is taking a new turn, as Ms. Crain's attorney has filed a motion to amend their counterclaims to include new allegations against the RIAA and its investigative partners. According to court documents, Ms. Crain "has become aware upon information and belief that [the RIAA] have illegally employed unlicensed investigators in the State of Texas and used the information thereby obtained to file this and other similar actions across the country."

At the heart of the issue is a Texas law which says that investigations companies must be licensed in order to collect evidence that can be used in a court. According to court documents, Ms. Crain says that MediaSentry—the company carrying out the investigations for the RIAA—was aware of this requirement, both in Texas and in several other states, and ignored it. The counterclaims even suggest that the RIAA encouraged this arrangement.

"[The RIAA and MediaSentry] 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," reads the motion.

Ms. Crain's attorney argues that such actions constitute "civil conspiracy" under Texas law and led to her suffering much undue distress.

MediaSentry, the investigative company at the center of the allegations, is used by the RIAA, MPAA, and a handful of other groups to track and identify P2P users believed to be infringing copyrights. Should Ms. Crain prevail in her counterclaims, it could jeopardize the evidence collected by MediaSentry not just in Texas, but in other states where similar licensing provisions exist.

Earlier this month Tanya Andersen prevailed in her battle with the RIAA: a battle which also focused on issues of evidence. That victory came at the same time that we learned of another defendant suing the RIAA for fraud, conspiracy, and extortion.

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