Judge Slashes $1.92 Million RIAA Ruling Against Minnesota Mom

A Minnesota District Court judge has significantly slashed the $1.92 million fine against Minnesota mom Jammie Thomas-Rasset, who was sued by the RIAA after illegally downloading 24 songs through peer-to-peer networks. In a decision announced today, Judge Michael Davis found that the decision to fine Thomas-Rasset's $80,000 per song was "simply shocking" and downright unconstitutional. Davis then sliced the penalty to $2,250 per song for a grand total of $54,000 — a 97 percent drop from the previous sentence, Copyrights & Campaigns reports. The major labels named as plaintiffs in the case now have seven days to decide whether to accept this fine or let Thomas-Rasset go to trial for a third time.

It's been a long, hard-fought legal battle for Thomas-Rasset. The initial trial in 2007 resulted in a $212,000 fine, and after her legal team uncovered an error in jury instruction in the first trial, Thomas-Rasset's case went to trial once again last year, only this time the jury levied the immense $1.92 million decision against her. That ruling went straight to the Justice Department, who defended the $1.92 million fine, arguing that "the defendant's suggestion that the actual harm can be measured to the 'tune of $1.29 for each of the 24 songs' … ignores the potential multiplying effect of peer-to-peer file-sharing."

The RIAA argued that Thomas-Rasset's massive penalty would serve as a cautionary tale for would-be illegal downloaders, but maintained a willingness to negotiate. Richard Marx, who was one of the artists Thomas-Rasset downloaded on the peer-to-peer network, said he was "ashamed" that he was involved in the excessive punishment and called the $1.92 million fine against the Minnesota mom "misguided and at worst, farcical."

Related Stories:
• Justice Dept. Defends $1.92 Million RIAA Fine Against Minnesota Mom
• Minnesota Mom Asks for Reduction of $1.92 Million Downloading Fine
• Richard Marx "Ashamed" He's Linked To $1.92 Million RIAA Fine Against Minnesota Mom

• 
  MUSIC 100 Greatest Debut Albums
• 
  MOVIES 'Great Gatsby' Is a Crushing Disappointment
• 
  TV Why You Should Watch 'Happy Endings'
• 
  POLITICS No Price Big Banks Can't Fix

Song Stories

“Oh Sherrie”

Steve Perry | 1984

Steve Perry's girlfriend Sherrie Swafford was actually in the studio when Perry began writing this song--his lone Top Ten hit as a solo act--with two co-writers. The trio began at midnight one night with just "Oh, Sherrie!" and "hold on, hold on." Three hours later, they had a complete song. Swafford, however, had to wait until the next day to hear it. "Sherrie actually got tired and went to bed," Perry said. She also appeared in the video, but their relationship did not hold on for long.

More Song Stories entries »

Twitter