Defendant seeks contempt order against Righthaven for non-payment of attorney’s fees

Las Vegas, NV, United States (AHN) – The winner of a court case against Nevada firm Righthaven asked the court over the weekend to declare the company from Nevada in contempt of couurt for non -payment of attorney’s fee in the amount of $34,045.50.

The lawsuit was filed against Wayne Hoehn by Righthaven over copyright infringement. However, Righthaven lost the lawsuit and was required by the court to pay the lawyer hired by Hoehn.

The fee became due on Sept. 14, 2011, however Righthaven asked the court to give it more time to raise funds the fee, which Hoehn even agreed if Righthaven would post a $148,118 bond as an assurance that it would pay the law firm.

Righthaven’s legal problems are not limited to the contempt of court charge. The company, known for its frivolous lawsuits, will cease being a partner of MediaNews Group after the new CEO, John Paton, announced last week the non renewal of its contract with Righthaven by the end of September.

Paton said that while the issues that Righthaven brought up about copyright are real, MediaNews is not in favor of Righthaven’s strategy to file several lawsuits against people whom it perceived to have infringed copyright rules to overwhelm the defendants with paperwork and costly litigation.

Paton pointed out that some of the copyright issues raised by Righthaven had merits, but modern technology had created grey areas in copyright law and fair use.

In 2010, Righthaven Chief Executive Officer Steven Gibson even vowed to revive the print industry by filing lawsuits against copyright infringers. However, the countersuits filed against the company are starting to eat away whatever Righthaven won in previous court cases and the company now faces the possibility of bankruptcy.

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