Judge refuses to drop ACS Law file-sharing cases

 

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By Nicole Kobie

Posted on 18 Jan 2011 at 10:24

Controversial law firm ACS Law appears to have dropped several of its file-sharing cases.

ACS Law has been representing rights firm MediaCAT, sending out letters accusing people of illegally downloading pornographic films, and demanding payment to avoid being taken to court.

The company has yet to successfully prosecute any of its accused to court, with some claiming they have been wrongfully targeted using incorrect IP address evidence.

In a hearing at the Patents Courts in London yesterday, Judge Birss was expected to hear further details about 27 cases at once, in an attempt to address procedural issues.

However, last week all 27 of the accused apparently received letters saying the cases would be dropped and not taken to trial - a move which requires the prior approval of the judge.

Judge Birss refused to drop all but one of the cases, according to a report in ComputerActive, giving the legal teams of the defendants the chance to fight for punitive damages from MediaCAT.

Adding to the confusion, ACS Law's Andrew Crossley failed to show up for the hearing, following a family emergency. He couldn't be reached for comment at the time of publication.

The bulk of the hearing was adjourned until 24 January, amid reports that ACS Law wants to retain the ability to "revive" the dropped cases in the future - a move the judge called "unprecedented."

GCB Limited

The whole debacle has become even stranger, as accused illegal file-sharers have received letters from ACS Law telling them the firm is no longer handling payments, and to instead call a company called GCB Limited.

"In order to allow us to focus on the issuing of proceedings, our client has instructed agents, GCB Limited, to correspond with you directly in relation to the above matter in place of ACS Law Solicitors," a letter posted online says.

GCB Limited is a company registered by accountancy firm McLean Reid, which claims to have nothing to do with the file-sharing cases.

"We have no connection whatsoever with ACS Law," the company said on its website. "GCB Limited was formed by us and appears to be being misused by some third party. We are taking urgent steps to ensure that our name is not in any way abused in this connection."

As website TorrentFreak has noted, calling the "payment centre" listed on the latest letters leads to a recorded message: "If you have received a letter from GCB Limited, please disregard this letter as GCB Limited is no longer persuing the matter stated in the letter."