CABL Forum - DirecTV has filed federal lawsuits

Forcing dozens of accused "pirates" to walk the federal court plank, a satellite television service has resolved most of the lawsuits the company filed the past two years against 267 Oklahomans.
Lawsuits

DirecTV has filed federal lawsuits against 267 Oklahomans accused of pirating the company's signal. A majority of those cases have concluded. Here are the numbers according to DirecTV:

Settlements: 192.

Pending: 42.

Default judgment: 28.

Dismissed: 5.

The Oklahoman checked case files in the U.S. District Court for the Western District of Oklahoma and here are the results:

Total filed in district: 101.

Confidential settlements: 52.

Judgments: 23, totaling $360,000.

Pending: 6.

"It's extortion," said lawyer Christopher Bergin, who along with attorney Randy Conner have represented more than a dozen Oklahomans being sued by DirecTV.

"You're average Oklahoman can't afford to try and outspend a Fortune 500 company," Bergin said. "A lot of DirecTV's allegations don't have any evidentiary foundation, but it's an expensive process to prove that."

About two years ago, people across the country began receiving letters accusing them of piracy. They were told to settle for $3,500 or face legal action and the prospects of paying thousands of dollars more to a defense lawyer to prove their innocence, New York attorney Andrew J. Campanelli said.

Bergin said it became more expensive to fight the allegation than just paying DirecTV's demand.

"They can pay the extortion and at least the hemorrhage will stop," Bergin said. "It is the ultimate use of financial power by a corporation."

DirecTV defended the lawsuits saying the legal actions are necessary to prevent piracy and protect customers.

"Signal thieves are the digital TV equivalent of cattle rustlers or oil patch claim jumpers -- I don't know any Oklahoman in that line of work who would tolerate that," company spokesman Robert Mercer said.

The value of the lawsuits is not the money that's recovered but more in preventing future piracy, Mercer said.

"Clearly there's a great deterrent value in the lawsuits," Mercer said. "This is not a money making proposition for us. We'll be lucky to break even."

The Oklahoma lawsuits are a small portion of more than 25,000 filed nationwide by DirecTV against those accused of stealing the company's signal.

In Oklahoma City, DirecTV has entered into confidential settlements in more than half of the 101 cases it filed and won judgments totaling $360,000 in about two dozen more, a check of court records by The Oklahoman found.

It's pennies compared to the nationwide cases that easily resulted in millions of dollars in judgments, although the company won't release an overall figure. Most cases settle confidentially.

The legal action was necessary to protect DirecTV's business, Mercer said. "We have to protect our customers, our retail partners and our suppliers."

A few of those accused of being pirates by the satellite TV provider have decided to fight back, claiming the El Segundo, Calif.-based company is taking advantage of people who are not guilty of piracy.

In many cases, those being sued never intercepted DirecTV's signal, Bergin said. Several people bought and sold receivers on the Internet to make money, or someone else used their credit card to buy a smart card, Bergin said.

"The only way you can be liable to DirecTV is if you have a device and pirate the signal," said Campanelli, who represents a couple who are countersuing DirecTV.

Accused pirates pay thousands of dollars to either DirecTV or a lawyer whether they're guilty or not, Campanelli said. "Even if you've done nothing wrong, you're under the knife."

Two of those threatened by the metaphorical blade are Campanelli's clients Gary and Loretta O'Hal.

The couple, both in their early 60s, have never owned a satellite dish, but unbeknownst to them a smart card was billed to their credit card, so DirecTV has gone after them, Campanelli said.

Although not commenting on specific lawsuits, Mercer said the legal actions serve a purpose and have merit.

"The fact was that we believe (people) were stealing from us," he said. "Normally, people just think they can get away with it. This is no different than walking into a Blockbuster and sticking DVDs in your pants."

The main goal of the lawsuits was to prevent piracy from occurring in the first place, Mercer said.

Along with upgraded technology, the lawsuits have zapped the pirates into near oblivion, Mercer said. "It has virtually, really eliminated the piracy, the theft, of our signal."

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DirecTV has filed federal lawsuits