Received a Complaint from BWP Media USA

[JLorimer]

I also saw Sandra Rose's impending lawsuit has made a bit of a splash in the new year.  Anybody have any helpful new info?

Thanks for asking.

BWP Media took too long to serve me after filing this case in Dec. 2013. So, after the deadline to serve me had already passed, the lawyer asked the court for an extension to serve me in August 2013. Unbelievably, the judge approved the extension. All this time I had no idea I was even being sued. BWP's attorney, Sanders Law, hired a local process server who didn't even attempt to find me even though he had my home address. He went straight to the secretary of state and served the desk clerk. Apparently, if you own a LLC in Georgia, it is legal to serve the secretary of state instead of serving me at my residence or place of business. Of course, the secretary of state didn't notify me that they received a summons for my company. So a year later, in January 2015, the judge ruled a default judgment against me for $57,000 and some change. I found out about the judgment from a California lawyer. The court didn't bother to mail me the judgment even though my address is listed on the secretary of state's website. Now my lawyer is listed on my LLC as my registered agent to received service of summons. My lawyer is preparing to file a motion to vacate on the grounds that I was not properly served and the deadline to serve me had already passed.

By the way, thank you to Matthew and Oscar Michelen for their EXCELLENT advice!

I'm happy to see that you found your way here, Sandra. I had attempted to contact you through your site about your case about a year ago I think. Thanks for providing some new details about your case.

[Sandra Rose]

No problem, J. I also have information about another case that was filed against a publisher who is a friend of mine. The copyright case was filed by BWP Media in December 2014. The judge dismissed the case earlier this month for failure to serve notice of summons within the 120 days deadline. Below is the court's ruling on that case.

ORDER DISMISSING ACTION WITHOUT PREJUDICE for failure to serve defendant within 120 days by Judge Andre Birotte Jr. The Court finds no reason to exercise its discretion to grant Plaintiff a further discretionary extension that Plaintiff has not even requested. It is Plaintiff's duty to prosecute its case, not the Court's role to maintain the action in the hopes that Plaintiff may someday take interest in it. Plaintiff having failed to (1) serve Defendant within the mandatory 120-day period for service of process; (2) show any good cause for its failure to do so, or; (3) even request an additional discretionary extension without a showing of good cause, the Court DISMISSES the action WITHOUT PREJUDICE. Fed. R. Civ. Proc. 4(m). IT IS SO ORDERED. (Made JS-6. Case Terminated.)

This is what should have happened in my case after BWP/Sanders Law failed to serve me notice in 8 months. Apparently BWP Media files so many lawsuits that they can't keep track of who was served.

[Matthew Chan]

Sandra Rose would never say anything publicly but I do want to give public recognition to her for being a quiet, generous financial supporter of ELI behind the scenes.

Specifically, her timely contribution will pay a few quarterly Pacer.gov bills I get over the course of a year. I often go into Pacer.gov to look up and research relevant federal lawsuits to report here or to people who enroll in ELI Support Calls.  Sometimes those Pacer.gov bills add up in a hurry when I am in serious research mode.

The good news is that Sandra Rose is doing more than her share to support ELI by covering my Pacer.gov bills.

Thank you, Sandra Rose for the generous ELI Contribution.  And thank you for participating on and following the ELI Forums. It is greatly appreciated. I felt the need to give something back to you and so you will have me peeking in on your case and situation from time to time.

[Sandra Rose]

Thank you Matthew for everything you do to keep the blog community safe from predators like copyright trolls.

[rockview]

Has anything exciting been going on in the world of Sanders and BWP? I've been away from the forums and checking out what I've missed over the last few months. I've received a letter and email from Sanders. Nothing more.

Debating what my next step should be. I contacted Oscar's office months ago and never received a response, unfortunately. After calling them, I was told someone would be in touch, but when I never heard anything, I decided to let it go. The attorney I was working for told me to ignore it.

[Sandra Rose]

Debating what my next step should be. I contacted Oscar's office months ago and never received a response, unfortunately. After calling them, I was told someone would be in touch, but when I never heard anything, I decided to let it go. The attorney I was working for told me to ignore it.

Oscar is very busy with cases, but keep trying to reach him. He will eventually get back to you.