The first file-swapper to take her copyright infringement case all the way to a verdict will have a remarkable third trial next month. Jammie Thomas-Rasset has fought the RIAA through four years, two trials, a name change, and a $1.92 million judgment; on November 2, she gets to do it again.

Just weeks before the third trial was supposed to begin, Thomas-Rasset's lawyers asked the judge overseeing the case to alter his earlier ruling slashing her damage award. That change would put an end to the district court trial and would open the way to the appeals court, and it would keep Thomas-Rasset from paying yet another visit to the Minneapolis federal courthouse.

Today, Judge Michael Davis refused to change his original ruling. "The Court has thoroughly reviewed the parties’ submissions and its January 22 Order and concludes that the January 22 Order contains no manifest errors of law or fact," he wrote. The trial is on.

We'll be covering the case, which should be quite different from the first two. This trial is only a trial on damages; Thomas-Rasset is already presumed to be liable for infringement, and a jury will hear testimony only about the size of the fee she should pay. The RIAA is hoping for another big award, one which would make the previous $1.92 million decision look "reasonable" by showing that multiple juries can come to similar conclusions.

Jury decisions in the two major P2P cases to reach a verdict have been wildly mixed. Thomas-Rasset was originally hit with a $222,000 damage award, but the first trial was thrown out over a bad jury instruction. Her second trial then landed her with $1.92 million in fees, which was slashed by the judge to a mere $54,000. In Massachussetts, another file-swapper named Joel Tenenbaum then racked up a $675,000 judgment, which that judge also slashed dramatically.

What will yet another Minnesota jury decide? And will the decision lead Judge Davis to slash the award once more? We'll know soon.