MINNEAPOLIS (CelebrityAccess MediaWire) — A judge has appointed a "special master" to oversee settlement talks between the Recording Industry Association of America (RIAA) and Jammie Thomas-Rasset, who stands accused of illegally sharing copyrighted music over the internet.
According to the Pioneer Press, U.S. District Court judge Michael J. Davis has appointed Jonathan Lebedoff, a private mediator to "promote meaningful settlement discussions." The RIAA will be responsible for paying Lebedoff's $400-per-hour fees.
The case has already been the subject of two previous trials with the RIAA requesting a third after the judge reduced their $1.92 million judgment against Thomas-Rasset to $54,000. The third trial is set to start on October 4th if a settlement cannot be reached.
The RIAA has alleged that Jammie Thomas-Rasset, a married mother of four, of making 24 different songs available for illegal download on the KaZaa p2p file sharing network. – CelebrityAccess Staff Writers
