Things must be different in the U.K. In the U.S.A. once you are "served" a summons you are legally required to appear in court, or you can be arrested and jailed. If I were you I would get an attorney (or I think you call them Barristers) fast, and don't talk to anyone connected with the case until you do.
joygoround, depends on the judge. Civil court is still a court, and when served with a notice to appear your required by law to appear. Same as if you don't comply with a subpoena for information, obstruction charge there. Venturefox, if you think the UK would stand up their closest ally with the pentagon hacker for poop and giggles, have fun with that. The only reason they're even hearing his case is because of his disease. If it were a person in good health, he'd be in the US right now. OP, re: lavitra's post. I agree. Post that persons name and any contact information (such as paypal emails) all over every forum you can.
ah, yes and no. Yes we want to know so that we can avoid him, however it doesn't mean he was in the wrong... he could have also been a victim just like op in the first place. I'm not trying to defend this guy but I'm just saying, we don't know. I thought may be op could talk to him but then if the seller realise he could be in trouble, all he has to do is change email address, not respond etc. Then op has to chase ISP to find out who he is etc.... things can get even more difficult.
Failure to defend a civil lawsuit will not result in a warrant or your arrest - it will result in a default judgment against you, but not your arrest. It is a common occurrence for civil defendants to not appear to defend cases.
Horrifying.... What if you are running public forums & free image hosting ? You get lawsuit / summons on weekly basis ?
Usually as a community web site, you're supposed to remove it the moment you receive a copyright complaint, then you should be safe. Just make it real easy and simple to get contacted otherwise they might not have the patience to go through any hoops. I don't.
First of all, any time anyone is sued, except perhaps in a small claims court, the person should immediately get legal advice. Second, as noted by another post in this thread, you should not post the facts of your case on an internet forum. That can and probably will be used against you. Next, if a US court can establish that it has jurisdiction over you, then you can be sued and where you live is no longer relevant. Whether your activities are sufficient to give a US court jurisdiction over you is a question your legal advisor needs to answer. Just because you violate US copyright laws does not necessarily mean that a US court has jurisdiction over you. If you fail to appear in a law suit, a default judgment is likely to be entered against you. Once your opponent has a judgment (by default or following a trial or other proceeding), he still needs to enforce the judgment. If you don't have assets in the US, that means that the damages need to be collected in a place where you DO have assets. Whether the courts where you live will enforce a foreign judgment is another case for your legal counsel to answer, but in most cases the answer is YES. If you have little or no assets, it is likely that you can make the matter go away by cooperating with the plaintiff. Litigation can be costly for a plaintiff as well as for the defendant, so a plaintiff has little incentive to pursue a penniless opponent if the opponent is willing to stop doing whatever triggered the action in the first place. Re-read step one: get legal advice.
I was seriosly rolling on the floor at some of the comments posted here....the most funny thing is the story created around extradiction.... I live in italy and i unfortunately i have a law degree, and I can tell you that we cant manage to extradict Cesare Battisti from Brazil, and that is a terrorist who killed several people at once. So whoever brought the word "extradiction" into this thread is a real no brainer. You would sure get deported to the US over a civil action about some stupid image's copyright! I have some unpaid fees for illegal car parking in norway. I hope I do not get extradicted to some norwegian court some of these days.
I am terribly sorry to hear this happened to you... However, I'm sure if you know who you paid (check paypal records?) then you can dump the blame on them, 'cause this really isnt your fault! Plus if you never monetised your website, you've clearly not profited, you're actually at a loss. I'm sure if you explained your situation fully, then you can get yourself out of this.. I still advise that you get in touch with the CAB (Citizens Advice Bureau) for some help... I hope you get out of this, clearly you do not deserve it. Best of luck to you mate. Chuckun
You have a law degree and can't spell 'extradition?. Sure You need to speak with REAL legal counsel in person. Asking advice on this forum is more likely to hurt you than to help.
You should seek legal advice but to me it seems slightly weird that you would get this lawsuit over a website that really generates no revenue. In cases we have had where people have used our content or other things we usually first send a cease and desist order and try to get them on the phone and have them sign the order to acknowledge. Usually a lawsuit will come after cease and desist order is tried, out of court litigation is tried to recover lost funds, and then after awhile you file a lawsuit. A lawsuit coming out of nowhere will probably hurt their chances in court as they would have a tough time with a "standing in court." Just consult some legal advice from a professional and you should be fine in this case since from what I have seen you did not show negligence.
You're far away, just ignore the message, but if they send again or something bad happens, I'd get professional advice/help..
Are you sure they still extradite over a civil matter? Normally extradition is reserved for criminal matters. Also if I was the OP..I would contact their lawyer and like a human being explain the situation and ask what resolution they are seeking and if an out-of-court resolution can be made. Hiring a lawyer to negotiate for you might be more costly than just doing it yourself. Most laywers know they can't pull blood from a stone and will probably advise their client to settle with you for a sum that's reasonable. It's really is in no ones interest to go to court. Oh and if this goes to court and he defaults by not showing up then it's likely income produced in the USA (Google) will get snatched.
If it has got this far I would have called a Lawyer to investigate the issue and to speak with the copyright owner.
I think you've taken on board most of the advice here because you're not replying and so, not incriminating yourself further. It's NOT a good idea to contact their lawyer directly without first seeking legal advice because any information you impart may be used against you.
Thank you for all your input and good wishes it is proving very helpful. At this moment i can't say too much. I now have had advice from a couple of local UK lawyers. It seems US law can be slightly different between each US state/district... but one question... Is it normal or legal to receive a summons out of the blue without getting some kind of cease and desist order first ?