Shadows of a Lawsuit

The Hollywood Reporter's Esq. Blog, written by Eriq Gardner, (excellent blog, BTW), comments on the progress of Teller's copyright infringement lawsuit against Gerard Dogge here. He notes that the suit has been frustrating for Teller because of the defendant's "vanishing" propensities. Says Mr. Gardner in part,

Earlier this month, U.S. District Judge James Mahan provided a status update and ruled on several motions. One had to do with whether the defendant was properly served papers in the case.

Soon after filing the lawsuit, Teller hired a private investigator and a law firm to locate Dogge. And how did that go?

"To date, defendant has evaded personal service and cannot be located in Belgium, Spain, or in any country in Europe," writes Mahan.

Teller might not have been able to find Dogge, but the famous magician managed to e-mail the court papers and prove that Dogge opened them. It's enough for the judge, who notes "the only reason defendant has not been personally served ... is because defendant surreptitiously evaded substantial attempts of service by plaintiff."

To make matters more interesting, although Dogge has artfully avoided the papers, he's not been silent. In fact, he's provided countless, colorful filings, including one where he taunts, "I will, after being served in the legal way, obey to the Court by taking responsibility, I will defend myself and prove that there was no copyright infringement."

Mr. Gardner points out that the defendant also requested a jury made up of magicians, a request that the judge rejected as "nonsensical." I get it. Mr. Dogge is suggesting that only other magicians, a jury of "peers," can judge the the case. Hmmm...maybe we can get some lawyer/magicians into that jury pool...