Notorious file-sharing lawyers ACS:Law shuts down
No more speculative letters from this company
ACS:Law, the notorious legal firm that sent out bullying letters to suspected file sharers, has shut its doors for good.
It was also reported by TorrentFreak that Media C.A.T., the client of ACS:Law responsible for the file-sharing accusations, has also shut up shop.
The moves come after a series of legal disasters. In December ACS:Law lost its first file-sharing court case, due to a variety of technicalities. Then, in January Andrew Crossley resigned as head of ACS:Law, dropping cases against 27 defendants before any evidence had been heard.
“I have ceased my work…I have been subject to criminal attack. My e-mails have been hacked. I have had death threats and bomb threats,” he said in a statement at the time.
Closing both ACS:Law and Media C.A.T. down now is just seen by many people as a further cynical move to avoid facing up to its actions, particularly as the judgement in the dropped cases is due to be heard this Tuesday at the Patents County Court. It’s a view shared by the court, too; at the time of Crossley’s resignation, Judge Birss said that he got the impression that “there is a desire to avoid any judicial scrutiny”.
Despite closing both companies, justice may still be served. After the judgement on Tuesday, ACS:Law and Andrew Crossley could find themselves liable for costs. Some of the defendants have even warned that they’ll sue Crossley for harassment.