bankrupcy when cant pay amount owed from a lawsuit?

[irebat]

hey guys im 23 and completely new to this whole thing.

I consider myself pretty middle class financially and I live a very modest lifestyle and always within my means, but something has just rocked my world.

I just got a letter that I was being sued for downlading and uploading copywrite infringing files through bittorrent. Its a long list of things they have on me in the letter I got and from some online searches it appears that these kinds of suits aren't cheap.

If im completely finciancially independent from my parents and I only have say a few thousand dollars in savings and they sue me for lets say, $50,000. Is bankrupcy right for me?

the only thing i know about bankrupcy is that it doesn't protect you from money that you owe through fraud. but I dont think what i did in considered fraud.

can anyone point me in the right direction as to what i should be researching or drop some keywords how i can better search this kind of thing up in my situation? kind of freaked out

does filing for bankrupcy allow me to not pay these costs? they could go as high as over 100-200k dollars from what i read online. *scary*

thanks for any help, i didnt know where else to put this

[discombob1]

My suggestion before you even consider BK is to consult an attorney regarding the actual suit. You don't have a jusgment yet. Also it's possible if they do get one and you do file that they will file and maybe win an AP (adversary proceeding).

I'd even go online and search attorney who specialize in these types of cases. Address the actual suit first, then worry about BK. I am not an attorney, but I suggest you consult a few. Most give free consultations. Then you know what you are facing.

ETA: check www.eff.org, the Electronic Frontier Foundation. They may be able to help you.

[LadyInTheRed]

I agree with discombob1. It is premature to be deciding whether bankruptcy is an option until you deal with the lawsuit. Deal with one thing at a time.

Did the letter say you are being sued? Or is it just a threat? Have you actually been served with a summons? Just because they sent you a letter doesn't mean you will get sued. They may decide you are too small a fish to fry. Even if they sue you, you may be able to settle for much less than they might get in a judgment. In fact, settling for a few hundred dollars could be the company's goal.

Call your county bar association lawyer referral service and describe the letter you were sent. They can refer you to a lawyer who practices in copyright law, hopefully with experience with bittorrent cases.

[tobee43]

i agree with both the previous posters....but you need to make certain this suit is "real"....it does not sound like the normal process....usally one is contacted by other means at least once prior to someone filing a suit against a person....however, not unheard of.....,and i have heard about some of these on line companies currently doing this type of thing...how "real" they are.....i would not be so quick to rush to judgment....i would most definitely seek an atty's advise and have them review the document you rec'd.

best of luck to you.

[irebat]

thanks for the words of help guys, ill look into it to make sure its legit.

but my question still remains, hypoethically if it were real, is bankrupcy something that eliminates this kind of payment, or is the crime one that would carry over even after i filed.

i mean, even if we settle for an amount thats more than i can pay, and filed for BK, does BK not protect me from this, or will I be able to avoid paying. I guess im just not sure what happens if someone sues you for money than you have, are they screwed because you cant pay it, or are you screwed and you have to pay it, no matter what.

[discombob1]

I'd be interested to hear what the legal eagles have to say, but I believe as long as the debt is civil and not criminal it is dischargeable. However, there are 2 issues 1. would you pass the Means Test for Ch 7 and 2. How likely are they to file an AP? If you do file, do qualify for a 7 and they do file an AP it will cost money to fight it even if you win. Read the section about Adversarial Proceedings for info. Same risk for a 13 but you would be paying on some of the debt.

However, like I said hopefully one of our gurus can chime in with a more solid answer since I'm a newbie and not an attorney.

ETA: this might even be a non-consumer Ch 7 so that would complicate things even more. You definitely need to consult an attorney, your case is not simple by any means. Again, start with an attorney for the "suit", then consult a few BK attorneys. It really is your best bet.

[catleg]

You probably need a lawyer to write them a nastygram.

Something like, some kid in the neighborhood used your non password protected wifi to run torrents.

How can they really prove any of this? It's just intimidation to force you to spend some bucks on a lawyer
and mainly to get you to stop doing this.

I would guess they win most suits by default judgments (you put up no defense).

Either way you'll need help from a lawyer who handles these kind of cases.

[tobee43]

You probably need a lawyer to write them a nastygram.

Something like, some kid in the neighborhood used your non password protected wifi to run torrents.

How can they really prove any of this? It's just intimidation to force you to spend some bucks on a lawyer
and mainly to get you to stop doing this.

I would guess they win most suits by default judgments (you put up no defense).

Either way you'll need help from a lawyer who handles these kind of cases.

i agree...an atty should review this situation......and beg for mercy!

[catleg]

check this:
http://www.wired.com/threatlevel/200...w-riaa-lawsui/
and then this:
http://lawvibe.com/riaa-settles-kaza...h-bronx-woman/

This is a good summary of the above with some further discussion on page 2 about the single case that RIAA won for 222k:
Link