RIAA sues family who don't have a computer in the household

It seems like whether or not an individual has even infringed copyrighted work, never mind own a PC, the RIAA will slap a lawsuit if they have any belief that this person could have done harm.  They have already tried suing the deceased, users who never used file sharing software or own a Mac, young children and now they are after another family who don't even own a computer! 

The RIAA alleges that the Carma Walls family have illegally used and continue to use file sharing software to download copyrighted music as well as redistribute copyrighted music out to the public.  The family are obviously shocked to hear about this and are not aware of how such a lawsuit could be filed upon them.  The only clue they could find is that as they have only moved in about a year ago, there is a chance that the previous owner did have a computer with Internet access and was the culprit.

Worse still, the investigators got the screen name carmawalls @ kazaa.com, which to the RIAA is a clear indication that they had a computer previously, such as during the time the investigation was carried out.  The family also did admit to RIAA settlement experts that they previously owned a computer, which they listened to music on, however it is unclear at this time if they ever had this in their current household or connected to the Internet. Thanks to DamnedIfIknow for letting us know about this news: 

Can you sue someone for reckless driving if they only own a bike? That's what the Walls family of tiny Rockmart, Georgia, was wondering after they were sued for illegal file sharing by the Recording Industry Association of America recently, despite claiming that they don't even own a computer. According to the Rockmart Journal, the federal lawsuit filed by the RIAA alleges that Carma Walls infringed on copyrights by sharing music files over the Internet and that she "used, and continues to use, an online media distribution system to download the copyrighted recordings, to distribute the copyrighted recordings to the public, and/or to make the copyrighted recordings available for distribution to others." The paper reported that the the Wallses were shocked to hear of the action on Friday from a reporter and that they were not aware of the suit or how it could have been filed.

To me, it seems like the family may have actually had a computer in order for their Kazaa screen name to match the family as well as for them to admit that they have previously had a computer to listen to music on.  However, it would be interesting to know if they had either an Internet connection on that PC at any stage and used it in their current household.  Otherwise, it is much like getting sued for reckless driving without currently owning or driving a car.

DamnedIfIknow said:  With the *crap* music they are claiming the defendants shared.  The RIAA should give the family money for "pain and suffering"!

Source: MTV News