[Dixielandjazz] Latest RIAA file sharing lawsuit

[Stephen G Barbone]

How low can RIAA go? What the hell is the matter with these greedy  
bottom feeders from Vivendi, Universal, EMI, Warner Music and Sony  
BMG? They are sick.

Cheers,
Steve Barbone

PITTSBURGH -- A young Pittsburgh woman who needs a transplant has  
another fight on her hands. She's being sued by the music industry for  
illegally downloading music from the Internet.

But 19-year-old Ciara Sauro strongly denies the charge and says she  
and her mother are overwhelmed with medical debts.

"Look and see where it (the downloads) came from, and look and see  
that it's not me. It's not fair to do to me," said Sauro.

Sauro, who lives in Ross Township, is disabled with pancreatitis. She  
needs an islet cell transplant and is hospitalized weekly.

Because she didn't defend herself against a copyright lawsuit, a  
federal judge in Pittsburgh ruled she's a music pirate, and that could  
cost the Sauros almost $8,000 in fines.

"I already have severe depression. I mean, it's so hard to sit there  
and think that I have to get in trouble for something that I didn't  
do. It's not fair," Sauro said.

Sauro and her mother, Lisa, are being sued for the fines because they  
didn't challenge a music industry lawsuit in Pittsburgh federal court.

The lawsuit accuses Ciara Sauro of illegally sharing 10 songs online  
with strangers through free Internet software.

"You want to know the truth? I make $8.25 an hour. She can't work.  
This child is very sick. I mean, what am I supposed to do?" Lisa Sauro  
said.

The Sauros said they've lived in their home since Ciara's father moved  
out. They claim the Internet account in the lawsuit was opened by him  
at his new address.

"I just want them to know that I have to go through enough stress in  
my life with my sickness and my family, and I don't think that they  
should go after people just because they want money for something  
that's not even fair to us," Ciara Sauro said.

Attorney James Brink told WTAE Channel 4 Action News that he's  
offering to represent the Sauros for free and ask a judge to reopen  
the case.

Brink, who has defended other similar lawsuits, said the persons being  
sued only have so many days to respond before a judge enters a default  
judgment. He also said it's common for people to be intimidated by the  
legal documents.

"A lay person getting this -- first of all, it's 60 pages thick," he  
said. "It's full of legalese and jargon from the company. They see the  
record company suing them for thousands of dollars. They get scared."

An attorney who represents the record companies in the lawsuit against  
the Sauros did not return phone calls for comment Monday.