Capitol Ordered To Pay Legal Fees In Downloading Lawsuit

LOS ANGELES (CelebrityAccess MediaWire) — Capitol Records has been ordered by the court to cough up $70,000 in legal fees incurred by Deborah Foster whom the record company sued for copyright violation Variety reported. The record label had unsuccessfully attempted to sue Foster and then her daughter Amanda but eventually was forced to drop the case against Deborah.

Lawyers acting on behalf of Capitol had asserted that they should not be liable for the legal fees because Foster chose to defend herself in court.

Foster had initially claimed $114,000 in legal fees but the amount was dropped to $68,000 by the court.

The RIAA has issued a statement in response to the ruling: "We respectfully believe that this ruling is in error and is an isolated occurrence. Our interest in these cases is enforcing the rights of the record companies and artists, while fostering an online environment where the legal marketplace can flourish and the music industry can invest in the new bands of tomorrow. In the handful of cases where the person engaging in the illegal activity in the household is not the person responsible for the ISP account, we look to gather the facts quickly and do our best to identify the appropriate defendant." – CelebrityAccess Staff Writers