• by Wendy Davis  @wendyndavis, January 27, 2010

The record labels and peer-to-peer file sharing service user Jammie Thomas-Rasset are gearing up to go to court for what will be a third file-sharing trial.

On Wednesday, Thomas-Rasset rejected an offer to settle the case by paying $25,000 to a music charity and asking the judge to vacate his earlier ruling slashing damages. Thomas-Rasset was found to have infringed copyright by illegally sharing 24 tracks on Kazaa.

Recording Industry Association of America spokesperson Cara Duckworth says the labels intend to pursue another trial. "It is a shame that Ms. Thomas-Rasset continues to deny any responsibility for her actions rather than accept a reasonable settlement offer and put this case behind her. Given this, we will begin preparing for a new trial," she said in a statement.

Kiwi Camara, one of Thomas-Rasset's lawyers, says he intends to pursue the argument that damages of more than around $1 a song -- the cost of a track online -- are unconstitutional because they have no relationship to the actual damages in the case.

Late last week, U.S. District Court Judge Michael Davis in Minnesota reduced a jury's award against Thomas-Rasset from $1.92 million to $54,000. Davis gave the Recording Industry Association of America until this Friday to either accept the award or seek a new trial solely on damages.

The federal copyright statute provides for damages of between $750 and $150,000 per infringement. Last June, a jury found Thomas-Rasset liable for copyright infringement and assessed damages of $80,000 per track.

Davis slashed that to $2,250 a track or $54,000, saying that even that amount was "significant and harsh," but "no longer monstrous and shocking."

An earlier trial in 2007 resulted in a jury verdict of $220,000. But Davis set that verdict aside and ordered a new trial because of a mistaken jury instruction.