RIAA Settles Santangelo File-Sharing Case for $7,000

Authored by Mark Hefflinger on April 28, 2009 - 11:44am.

New York - The Recording Industry Association of America (RIAA) has agreed to accept $7,000 to settle four-year-old copyright infringement litigation against the family of 46-year-old Patricia Santangelo, the Associated Press reported.

The RIAA initially filed suit against Santangelo, who claimed ignorance on how to download; that suit was later dropped, and the RIAA instead sued Santangelo's children Michelle, 20, and Robert, 16.

The children denied wrongdoing in that lawsuit; the family's lawyer, Jordan Glass, told AP the family took the settlement offer to control costs with its children now in college.

"We are pleased to have reached an agreement with the Santangelos," RIAA spokeswoman Cara Duckworth told AP.

"Asked how much had been spent to win the $7,000 settlement, and whether it was a victory," AP reports, Duckworth replied, "We don't break out costs per case, and it's not a question of it being 'worth it' or a 'victory'."

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