My attorney's advice

[Demon Semen]

By no means is this supposed to give any of you advice, I am simply stating what my attorney has suggested. I received my first letter (by regular mail, not certified) around 6 months ago. I ignored it. I just received my second letter with the sample lawsuit attached. While I am not a lawyer, I do have a law degree and I personally think that these letters are only an attempt to collect money easily. However, after reading all these posts, I became concerned and contacted my attorney. He told me to do nothing. He reaffirmed my belief that this is only a scare tactic. Of course, we could be wrong. He just finds it hard to believe that DTV would pursue all these individuals when evidence is nominal at best. I kind of wanted him to send the attorneys a general letter of denial, but he thinks it is best to just shut up and wait and see if anything happens. I can tell you that I am a subscriber and I don't have any testing equipment. I seriously doubt that a search warrant would ever be issued, but we need to cover our asses just in case. These letters have not enticed me into paying, but they certainly should be a wake up call for the reasonable prudent person. Like I said, this is not advice. Everyone should contact an attorney and see what he/she suggests.

[To The Real King!!]

Hi Demon,

Would you be kind enough to let us know if they do take action against you. This would give people the opportunity of seeing what they will do since they are suing a large number of people.

There is much debate over this but the problem is that when people do get suits they do not come back and report it thus leaving people wondering.

It would be very helpful to have you report back as to their next action. If they do not sue you then this could be god advice until a suit comes but i they do sue you then determining what action to take earlier whould not have been harmful since they often give a short term to reply when they sue.

Thanks
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Thanks & Good Luck,
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To The REAL King!!

Freedom has nothing to fear from the truth!
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[Demon Semen]

I will be happy to keep everyone informed. Do we have any definitive proof that they have actually sued an end-user?

[To The Real King!!]

Hi Folks,


Yes I agree with Geo that most lawyers will tell you this and with good reason.

You should NOT say anything (positive or negative) about the case itself, just that you are being sued. Since that is public information its not harmful at all. But once you are sued do not say anything about your case since the Internet is NOT anonymous at all.http://www.legal-rights.org/images/ttrk.gif

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Thanks & Good Luck,
http://www.legal-rights.org/images/rotate_rib.gif
To The REAL King!!

Freedom has nothing to fear from the truth!
http://www.legal-rights.org/images/satelliterights.gif
http://www.legal-rights.org/images/freedomblack.gif

Our Deepest Condolences one year later too (http://www.legal-rights.org/condolences.html) <-- Click here Please


Please DONATE for the SUPREME COURT CENSORSHIP BATTLE (http://www.legal-rights.org/donation.html) <-- Click here Please!

Por favor dona para la BATALLA EN LA SUPREMA CORTE (http://www.legal-rights.org/donation.html)<-- Haz Click aqui!

---------

!

[freetv4mee]

If it wasn't sent as certified mail there is no proof you've even received, let alone opened the letter.
Only acknowledge receipt of a certified letter to keep dave at bay.

[JD490]

Here is a post from zeta7 says he was sued
http://www.dsschat.com/forum/showthread.php?s=&threadid=132386
He says he is part of the Florida case. Haven't seen any more post from him. He said in one post he was going to repersent him self if they sued him. Anyone here know what happend to him.

[JLA]

Originally posted by freetv4mee
If it wasn't sent as certified mail there is no proof you've even received, let alone opened the letter.
Only acknowledge receipt of a certified letter to keep dave at bay.

I have not received the letter nor will I receive THE letter (my SC programmer has the words LITRONIC printed on it and I've never watched a DTV signal I haven't paid for.) I'm not an attorney but I have been the plaintiff in several copyright infringment lawsuits. (if TTRK wants my real name, etc for a pacer search i'll send it, but i DON'T have anything to say that shouldn't be common knowledge that someone else hasn't already said in a slightly different way.) That aside, the PURPOSE of the letters are to get you to sit at the table. A copy of a generic lawsuit sent fedex or through regular mail MEANS NOTHING. (ie. letters 1-2-3) Before you file suit, you ALWAYS attempt to get the other party to settle without filing in court. The lawyers/collection agencies DTV have hired are probably working on a 30-45% commission. There is the possibility of them winning a $10,000 judgement from you in court. There is also a very good chance they will spend almost that much to win $10,000. The $200/hr lawyer you hire becomes a $6-800/hr lawyer once they set foot inside a court room. So if they get you to settle, its a win-win situation for them. Eventually they will try to serve you (in most states, the local sheriff's office has this responsibility.) You can try and hide but eventually their lawyers (actually, it will probably be their legal aides that get paid $25/hr) will present a document in court saying they have exhausted all possible methods of contacting you and then they'll file for a default judgement. 30 days later, you'll find yourself owing several thousands dollars. IMO you can fight this but you have to present a REALLY good reason why they were unable to contact you at the address listed on your drivers license (plane tickets and a stamped passport is one way.)
If you have the intention (and financial means) to actually fight in court, ignore the first few letters. However, there is no reason to NOT sign for the letters. If you are sneaking home at night and parking down the street in the hope that you won't be served, you are only screwing yourself.
When you get the first letter, TALK TO A LAWYER. Your first visit to a lawyer will generally be free. They'll present several paths that you can go down and then you have to decide how much you are willing to gamble. Settling for the $3500 that DTV's extortionists first ask for is a LOT less than what you will pay to take things to court. If you end up hiring a lawyer HE WILL be able to reduce that amount in a pre-court settlement (if not, get another lawyer). I have not read nor heard of any cases that have gone past discovery. DTV's lawyers are betting on your ignorance. The less they think you know, the more they will try to get from you. None of us will know until a case finally goes to court. If all you've purchased is a SC programmer and your willing to lie in court, the odds are in your favor. If you've purchased a bootloader or unlooper things will be more difficult (but not impossible, essentially the three are the same but you will have to refute their evidence that says otherwise.) Technically, a programmer, a bootloader or a unlooper is not illegal and owning one is NOT against the law. DTV will have to show proof that you actually stole their signal. If it gets that far, they will ask you in a deposition.
This whole thing is just one big poker game and DTV are winning. I feel sorry for those of you that don't have the financial means to fight this in court (I don't/wouldn't.) Hopefully someone that can, will do so and share what their lawyers have learned (and can prove.)
With the cash cow this has become I would be really surprised if DTV's lawyers let this get beyond discovery. You can countersue for attorney fees but it is a lot more difficult than it should be.

Good luck

[JD490]

Most posts I'm reading now say they not going any lower then $3500.00 on settlements. My attorney has gone back and forth with letters and phone calls for 2 months now they wont go any lower. DTV's attorneys say no legal firm is now going any lower then $3500.00. They also have said they are not being paid on contingency they are being paid by the hour. Not sure if they are telling the truth, but why would they bother telling us if they were doing anything different. They are willing to brake the payment up into 4 months. What could happen in court no one will know till that happens. Making statements like they will have to prove you used it. They might only have to prove to the stupid Jury that the device in it self bought from a dealers web site that promotes hacking is an illegal device. Again no one will know how its going to go in court. Probably will take a year or two till its all gone through court. If anyone programmed cards for friends and co workers invited friends over to watch WWF and Mike Tyson they should think twice about going to court. Almost everyone will settle when they get served anyway. Its just a lot cheaper to do that.

[Speedp3]

Originally posted by JD490
If anyone programmed cards for friends and co workers invited friends over to watch WWF and Mike Tyson they should think twice about going to court.
They had better help you pay for the lawyer to fight or the settlement! Originally posted by JD490
Almost everyone will settle when they get served anyway. Its just a lot cheaper to do that.
I hate this fact. Unfortunately, it's true, for now!:mad:

[Thor]

Originally posted by Speedp3
They had better help you pay for the lawyer to fight or the settlement!
I hate this fact. Unfortunately, it's true, for now!:mad:

Speedp3,
Sad but true ... don't you know that you really have no friends when it comes to money:(
They had their cake and ate it now it's scr#w you..

[ekati]

Originally posted by Speedp3
They had better help you pay for the lawyer to fight or the settlement!


lol, your kidding right?

If i tell you to drive thru a red light while i ride with you and you get a ticket do you expect me to help to pay the ticket?
You are driving, you decide whether to break the law or not.
If i ask you to jump off that bridge......

[Speedp3]

Originally posted by ekati
lol, your kidding right?

If i tell you to drive thru a red light while i ride with you and you get a ticket do you expect me to help to pay the ticket?
You are driving, you decide whether to break the law or not.
If i ask you to jump off that bridge...... Perhaps YOUR friends are not friends at all.

[tbshooter]

The unlucky people who get letters from Secure Signal International will get ream a lot more than $3500.