I couldn't help thinking of the Black Knight.
From ars technica:
Yesterday, John Steele, one of the masterminds behind Prenda Law, was referred to criminal investigators at the Department of Justice and Internal Revenue Service by a federal judge. Steele and his colleagues were also ordered to pay more than $81,000 in attorneys' fees, and referred to state bar investigators."It's just a flesh wound!"
Steele's years-long copyright trolling scheme—in which demand letters were sent to thousands of users based on "snapshots" of their IP addresses—appears to be at an end, resulting in some very serious consequences. But he is putting on a brave face in public, responding with characteristic aplomb. Steele attacked US District Judge Otis Wright's order publicly, telling adult-industry publication XBIZ (NSFW) that he intends to appeal it."Look, you stupid bastard, you've got no arms left!"
"Obviously we don't agree on the ruling," Steele said. "Judge Wright based his order on an eight-minute hearing where there was no testimony, no evidence introduced. Clearly Judge Wright does not like this type of litigation and he's no fan of intellectual property law.""I'm invincible!"
At the hearing (which was actually about 12 minutes), Steele and other Prenda lawyers pled the Fifth Amendment, and refused to discuss who owned Prenda-linked shell companies or where the settlement money was going....MORE"You're a looney"
I think I got the Holy Grail quotes in the right order.
Some of the other coverage:
Die Troll, Die
techdirt has one of the Florida cases where the law firm morphs into a plaintiff called Sunlust Pictures, LLC:
Copyright Troll Case Tossed For 'Fraud On The Court' After Abbott & Costello-Worthy Hearing
