• by Wendy Davis  @wendyndavis, October 9, 2009

A federal magistrate rejected a request by the Recording Industry Association of America to sanction defense attorney Ray Beckerman, who criticized the record labels in his blog.

"Although defendant's counsel took an unusually aggressive stance and, at times, veered into hyperbole and gratuitous attacks on the recording industry as a whole, I do not find clear evidence of bad faith on counsel's part," U.S. magistrate Robert Levy in the eastern district of New York ruled Friday.

The dispute about Beckerman's blog arose in the course of the RIAA's copyright infringement lawsuit against Marie Lindor, a home health aide in Brooklyn. The record labels sued her for alleged file-sharing in 2005, but after a heated discovery process, asked to withdraw the case without prejudice. The RIAA claimed that key evidence had been lost in the course of the case. The record labels also sought sanctions against Lindor and Beckerman for allegedly engaging in vexatious conduct.

Among other complaints, the RIAA alleged that Beckerman "maintained an anti-recording industry blog" and "consistently posted virtually every one of his baseless motions on his blog seeking to bolster his public relations campaign and embarrass plaintiffs." The blog contains publicly available information about lawsuits brought by the RIAA, as well as commentary by Beckerman and others.

The RIAA also argued for sanctions on the ground that Beckerman, Lindor and her family allegedly thwarted the industry's attempts to learn critical facts. But Levy found that "both sides bear some responsibility for escalating the hostilities and turning what should have been a routine file sharing case into an unnecessarily protracted dispute."

Beckerman had opposed the RIAA's motion to withdraw the lawsuit without prejudice, arguing that the withdrawal should instead be with prejudice so that the industry couldn't bring the same lawsuit against Lindor at a later date. Beckerman also argued that any dismissal should be conditioned on an award of attorney's fees to Lindor.

Levy sided with the RIAA on that portion of its argument, recommending that the labels be allowed to withdraw their lawsuit without prejudice and without being required to pay Lindor's legal bills. Jennifer Pariser, senior vice president of legal affairs for the RIAA, said in a statement that the organization was "pleased the magistrate agreed with us that the case should be dismissed without prejudice and without fees awarded."

Both sides now have around two weeks to decide whether to object to Levy's recommendation.