A US District Judge in Minnesota has “drastically” reduced the amount of penalty imposed against a local woman found guilty of illegally sharing music files over peer-to-peer file-sharing websites. The judge has reduced the “monstrous and shocking” amount of nearly $2 million dollars to only $54, 000.
In his decision, US District Judge Michael Davis said that he was shocked to learn that the jury had imposed nearly $2 million penalty against Jammie Thomas-Rasset for sharing some 24 songs using P2P networks.
From the $1.92 million award to the music companies, Davis has reduced the amount Thomas-Rasset need to pay to just $2, 250 per song or a total of $54, 000.
“A $2 million verdict for stealing and illegally sharing or distributing 24 songs cannot justify the need for deterrence, which only purpose is to obtain free music over the Internet,” Davis said in his ruling.
Meanwhile, Judge Davis has dismissed the motion of Thomas-Rasset, requesting for re-trial of her case. The federal judge also gave the music labels concerned and the Recording Industry Association of American seven to accept the new ruling or file for another trial for the damages.
Sought for comment, RIAA Spokesperson Cara Duckworth said that they lawyers are now studying possible options on the new ruling. She, however, refused to give further details about the case.
Meanwhile Thomas-Rasset expressed hope to the US justice system, saying that the new ruling was a positive development in her case. She added that her lawyers are now working to further decrease the penalty.
“It does not matter if it is $2 million or $54, 000. The fact is, I’m a mom with four kids, a single job, and we really don’t have the dough like that right now,” Thomas-Rasset said.
Thomas-Rasset’s case was only one of the more than 30, 000 lawsuits filed by the RIAA against identified illegal file-sharers. Majority of the cases went into settlement, which cost people around $3, 500 each.