Hawaiian Art Network v. Aloha Plastic Surgery Lawsuit Settled

[Robert Krausankas (BuddhaPi)]

Well it would appear, that the Aloha Plastic Surgery / Hawaiian Art Network case has been settled. The docket entry is below from pacer.

EP: Early Settlement Conference held on 11/2/2012. Also present: Plaintiff Vincent K. Tylor and Defendant Michael Anthony Pasquale. Case settled. Terms stated UNDER SEAL. Based upon representations by counsel and affirmations by the parties, the Court finds that the essential terms of a valid and enforceable settlement agreement have been stated. Pursuant to the agreement, the record of this proceeding is hereby sealed except for the Injunction to be entered and signed by Judge Seabright. The deadline to submit the Injunction is 12/3/12. The following dates are hereby vacated: 3/7/13, 10:00am, Settlement Conference, Judge Chang; 5/21/13, 9:00am, Final Pretrial Conference, Judge Chang; 7/2/13, 9:00am, Jury Trial, Judge Seabright. All pending matters are deemed withdrawn based upon this settlement. (In Chambers - no record, 11:00-1:09pm (Settlement Conf); FTR C5 - 1:09-1:16pm (Settlement Conf-SEALED HEARING).) (JUDGE KEVIN S.C. CHANG)(sna, )No COS issued for this docket entry (Entered: 11/02/2012)

I find it interesting that the case records have been sealed. I highly doubt that Aloha requested this, as an alleged infringement is hardly anything to be embarrassed or ashamed of. I also find it hard to believe that the judge in this case would recommend sealing such a case, as this just means more paperwork for him / her.. All this makes be think that Glen Carner, Hawaiian Art Network and Vincent K. Tylor requested it be sealed...gee I wonder why..could be they have something they don't want anybody to see. 

[Matthew Chan]

Based on limited information from what I could find out, I would say that Dr. Pasquale was pleased with the settlement. Without having details, it is difficult to say definitively what transpired. However, my instincts tells me that the case was sealed more to protect HAN and Vincent Tylor than Aloha Plastic Surgery given the fact that Aloha never had much of an issue with ELI repeatedly reporting on the case. In fact, I believe Aloha considered this fight a badge of honor.

Let's not forget that Aloha unexpectedly filed a countersuit which entangled both HAN and Vincent Tylor into a complaint from the very lawsuit they initiated. It put them into a defensive position strengthening the leverage Aloha had against HAN & Vincent Tylor. It is my suspicion that Aloha was in a better financial position to take on an extended legal battle than HAN (Glen Carner) and Vincent Tylor combined.

It is likely HAN & Vincent Tylor were uncomfortable with the discovery process that Aloha could have initiated.  Some uncomfortable questions would be asked and the answers would be equally uncomfortable to answer.

I have no doubt that the HAN lawsuit was meant to be a scare tactic against Aloha which backfired enormously against HAN and Vincent Tylor resulting in mounting legal fees on both sides.

From what little I know, Aloha was very determined in their fight to uncover HAN's and especially Vincent Tylor's extortionate tactics, seeding of the images, etc.

Sealing the settlement of this case protects HAN & Vincent Tylor more than Aloha as Dr. Pasquale never seemed to care about getting publicity on the case.  The potential loss, setback, and embarrassment for HAN & Vincent Tylor was very high given that the ruling of this case would have negatively rippled throughout the stock photo and photo industry. For Aloha Plastic Surgery, no one would hold it against them for falling victim for accidental and unintentional copyright infringement.

From my understanding, Dr. Pasquale cannot speak about the settlement unless he is compelled to through a future case subpoena.

As I have repeatedly said over the years, if the lawsuit road and the stock photo agency case was so compelling and overwhelming, why would they ever bother to settle?  The answer is because the lawsuit process would be a treacherous one. This has been shown repeatedly through prior cases by Masterfile, Corbis, and Getty.  HAN and Vincent Tylor elected to settle instead of "going all the way".

If their case was solid and their victory was so assured, why would HAN & Vincent Tylor settle at all?  While I cannot prove this, I absolutely believe the counter-suit initiated by Aloha was an unexpected and unhappy development for HAN & Vincent Tylor.

I believe Aloha could have weathered the legal battle financially even if they "lost".  Coupled with the fact the countersuit put HAN & Vincent Tylor in an unexpectedly defensive position.

All in all, I would consider this a victory of sorts for the Aloha.  HAN & Tylor chose to settle than to go "all the way".

[Mulligan]

What a shame we don't have an open judicial system in this country where every law suit filed results in a document that publicly reveals the precise settlement, regardless of whether or not the case went to trial.

If I were running things (and my blushing bride of multiple decades says, "Mulligan, thank God you are NOT running things!"), you can be damn sure there would be no more confidentiality agreements or sealed records where law suits and settlements were concerned.

The Mulligan "Pull Back the Curtain" Law would be simple: Once you file a law suit, the results (settlement without trial or trial settlement itself) are made part of the public record. Period. End of story.

Think how much lawyer, political, and corporate bullshit would come to an end if we actually had an honest system that revealed the way so many of these self-proclaimed  "justice fighters" twist laws to extract money for themselves as well as for their clients.

I say, "Bring all this evil shit that takes place in the dark out into the light!"

Yours for truth, justice, liberty, and returning to the Founders Concepts of an American Republic,

Mulligan

P.S. Today is election day. Only vote for candidates who support the Mulligan Pull Back the Curtain legislation! What? There are no candidates who would support such a law? Surprise, surprise.

End of Rant

By the way, all the above aside, I hope this was a complete and satisfying victory for Dr. Pasquale and Aloha Plastic Surgery.

[stinger]

Mulligan, when you get yourself on the ballot, I will be camped out at my voting site to be the first to vote for you.

Since, I am from Chicago, I might spend the day there so that I can be sure I am also the last to vote for you.

Remember, "vote early, vote often".

And a little political philosophy of my own.  "If the incumbent candidate has not delighted you with his/her record in the last term, vote them out and give someone else a chance to delight you."

[Greg Troy (KeepFighting)]

I would love to know what the terms of the settlement were, I will say that my hat is off to Aloha for standing up and fighting rather than just talking it. I hope that their example will lead others to fight if in a similar situation.

[SoylentGreen]

I'm thinking along the same lines as Matt.
Readers may also recall a recent event wherein a HAN/Carner/Tylor suit was dismissed because the potential defendant wasn't served.
http://www.extortionletterinfo.com/forum/getty-images-letter-forum/hawaiian-art-network-llc-v-the-scott-llc-et-al/
They're backing off.  It does seem likely that the court system wasn't the solution that they thought it was.

S.G.

[Oscar Michelen]

I was hoping this lawsuit would reveal some information about he "seeding" issue but what likely happened is that a federal judge did not want to waste time on a lawsuit over some digital images and pressed for a settlement.  Once the number gets to a nuisance level its hard for a defendant to resist putting up a small amount just to end the case and get back to their business. Most federal cases that settle involve confidentiality and sealing and the courts see that as a way of resolving cases more readily.  Plaintiffs may not want the world to know they brought a lawsuit and settled for $1,500 or defendants may not want the world to know they settled. I agree that it would be better if it was all in the open as Mulligan suggests but that would lead to more trials to "prove a point" and the system is too backlogged as it is. What many folks don't realize is that Federal judges also have an extensive criminal calendar which takes priority over civil cases and which occupies the majority of a judges time and docket. So they strongly prefer civil matters to go away quickly and quietly and whatever methodology makes that happen they are in favor of .

[Moe Hacken]

It's too bad we can't know the sordid details, but I'm very happy to read Matt's report that Dr. Pasquale is pleased with the settlement. That alone makes me happy.

I'd like to think that the good guys won, and that it was more than a pyrrhic victory.

[Matthew Chan]

There are lessons to be learned in fighting back. None of us will ever know what the actual settlement terms were but James Stephen Street apparently supported the terms of this settlement to which Aloha Plastic Surgery fought for nearly a year. The key thing was he went on the attack to file a counter-suit to find out more about the free wallpaper "seeding" and how VKT is making out like a bandit from this. 

Michael Pasquale apparent was satisfied enough to agree to the terms.

This is the complete docket from beginning to end and is an example to all Vincent Tylor & (half-a-century too late & Social Security collecting artist/attorney) James Stephen Street / Dane (young pup and amateur with no website) Anderson lawsuits.

http://www.scribd.com/doc/237346152/Complete-Docket-for-Hawaiian-Art-Network-v-Aloha-Plastic-Surgery

It is so convenient for these free wallpaper websites to distribute VKT photos and when someone is dumb enough to get one of those images.  The Hawaiian Trio of Tylor/Street/Anderson make out like bandits from the free wallpaper scheme.

[Robert Krausankas (BuddhaPi)]

It is so convenient for these free wallpaper websites to distribute VKT photos and when someone is dumb enough to get one of those images.  The Hawaiian Trio of Tylor/Street/Anderson make out like bandits from the free wallpaper scheme.

You can bet your ass that Hawaiian copyright attorney troll J. Stephen Street and that other douchebag VK Tylor ( Vincent Tylor from Landmark Hawaiian Images) are not taking any action to have these "free" wallpaper images removed, there are still plenty of those sites hosted with go-daddy alive and well today.. I won't get into who VK Tylor is teaching his son the trolling ropes as well, but I think there is another thread already started here about that..