Tenenbaum moves to dismiss claim for statutory damages

Accused peer-to-peer infringer Joel Tenenbaum has filed a motion to dismiss the record labels claim for statutory damages against him, on the grounds that such damages "represent an unconstitutional abrogation of due process when enforced against a noncommercial defendant" and "bear no reasonable relation to actual harms resulting from Joel Tenenbaum’s individual alleged infringement."

The motion is largely a re-worked version of Tenenbaum's purported counterclaim on the same issue, which the court said was "more appropriately pled in a Motion to Dismiss." Plaintiffs have already put forward their arguments and authority in opposition (see esp. pages 17-20) -- nearly of which Tenenbaum's brief simply ignores. Ray Beckerman is not impressed.