File-sharing defendant Jammie Thomas-Rasset has filed new legal papers asking the court to slash the $1.92 million verdict against her.
Thomas-Rasset argues that a seven-figure damage award is disproportionate to any harm she caused the record industry. “The plaintiffs were not able to offer testimony about any actual damage done to them by Mrs. Thomas’s conduct beyond perhaps $1.29 per song or $15 per album in lost sales,” she argues.
In June, a jury found that Thomas-Rasset had infringed on copyright by sharing 24 tracks on Kazaa and assessed damages of $80,000 per track. The statute provides for damages of up to $150,000 per instance of infringement.
The verdict marked the second time that a jury ruled against Thomas-Rasset. An earlier trial in 2007 resulted in a jury verdict of $220,000, or $9,000 per track. But U.S. District Court Judge Michael Davis in Minnesota set that verdict aside and ordered a new trial because of a mistaken jury instruction.
At the time, Davis expressed concern over the size of the award. “While the court does not discount plaintiffs’ claim that, cumulatively, illegal downloading has far-reaching effects on their businesses, the damages awarded in this case are wholly disproportionate to the damages suffered by plaintiffs,” he wrote.
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