Attorneys for the two parties in a landmark illegal music downloading case say the two sides are too far apart to reach a settlement, and they're jointly seeking the end of court-ordered settlement talks.
Michael J. Davis, chief judge of the U.S. District Court of Minnesota, on June 18 appointed a "special master" to oversee efforts to reach a settlement between the Recording Industry Association of America and Jammie Thomas-Rasset of Brainerd. Jonathan Lebedoff, a private mediator based in Minneapolis, was appointed to "promote meaningful settlement discussions" before July 16.
The two parties filed a motion July 6 asking "relief from any further obligation to conduct settlement discussions through the special master."
"As the Court is aware, the parties have repeatedly attempted to settle this case, both on their own accord and by order of the Court," the motion said. "Those efforts have, unfortunately, been fruitless because of the substantially divergent view of the parties regarding copyright law and the merits of this case."
The recording companies announced in February that they want a third trial in the illegal downloading case after Davis reduced their $1.92 million judgment against Thomas-Rasset to $54,000. That retrial is set for Oct. 4, according to court documents.
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A Minneapolis jury decided in June 2009 that Thomas-Rasset downloaded and illegally made available 24 songs for distribution on the KaZaA peer-to-peer file-sharing network. It found her liable for $80,000 for each of the songs.
The RIAA -- representing Capitol Records, Sony BMG Music Entertainment, Arista Records, Interscope Records, Warner Bros. Records and UMG Recordings -- sued Thomas-Rasset in 2006.
