Defendant in RIAA suit files amended complaint

Tanya Andersen refiled her lawsuit against the record industry body on Friday, which could open up RIAA's investigation techniques for all to see.

She filed the original lawsuit in August 2007, although a judge dismissed the case at a hearing on February 13 on a motion by the RIAA. Andersen was given 30 days to refile.

Her lawyer in the case, Lory Lybeck, did so on Friday. It puts the Recording Industry Association of America in the spot of having to defend the case on its merits: As part of the February ruling, the judge said that it would not hear any further motions to dismiss.

The onus is obviously still on Lybeck and Andersen to prove that the case is indeed worthy of going forward. If it does, RIAA's methods of taking on file sharers could be brought into the light.

Andersen charges that RIAA used unlicensed investigators to gather information and was in violation of the Racketeer Influenced and Corrupt Organizations (RICO) Act.

The new complaint will ask for information on how MediaSentry plays into the group's legal pushback against file sharers. Lybeck says the group's insistence upon keeping the subject under wraps raises doubts about its legality.

"It is very important for them to operate in secrecy because once their methodology is revealed, it will be obvious they committed a crime," he told Computerworld.

At one time, Andersen had fully cooperated with RIAA, allowing them to search her hard drive -- on which they found no evidence of wrongdoing. But instead of dropping the suit, they began to allege she used another computer for the file sharing.

She also claimed that the group began to harass her eight-year-old daughter, even going as far as attempting to call her at school to speak with her. Lybeck has said that the group continued its case even after it had been all but proven that they had the wrong person.

If Lybeck is successful in his efforts, he could also help out others being investigated by the RIAA through an injunction. The amendment complaint asks the court to prevent the group from using "illegal investigations" to sue file sharers. It is also seeking class-action status.

RIAA did not have much to say on the matter, only calling it "unfortunate" that Andersen has chosen to file, and hoping to "resolve the case in short order."