Karaoke Forums

It's funny. Florida is nationally known for re-files. I remember a couple of lawyers that latched on to a get rich quick scheme. The drove all over Florida looking for restaurants and other places that didn't have wheelchair access, then hired ( that's PAID) wheelchair bound people to show up in court to testify about how they had been discriminated against and to file huge suits that the lawyers could take on contingency.

Another one pulled the same bit against pest control companies in regard to fire ants- which are virtually unstoppable.

Another firm went after restaurants that didn't have menus specifically for the vision impaired- and hired some of those folks as well.

Florida is a favorite state for lawsuits of all sorts...

Just bringing this up as a possible explaination for the higher activity in Florida than anywhere else.

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"No Contests, No Divas, Just A Good Time!"

" Disc based and loving it..."

My take?
Old retired people with nothing better to fill their time!

Hey . . . . HEY! . . .

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Dave's not here.

Watch it now. You younguns' will get there too someday. When the time comes & I'm still around, I'd say "Well folks, join the club & Welcome To Florida"!!! Karaoke tonight at the Rec Room from 4 to 7pm.

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To be fortunate enough to derive an income from a source as fulfilling as karaoke music has got to be as close to heaven as we can get here on earth!

It has been stated that Florida is simply "God's waiting room."

7:00pm?? That's awfully late! Maybe if it was only until 6.....

gotta be up early for the breakfast buffet.

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Paradigm Karaoke, The New Standard.......Shift Happens

And there's a shuffleboard tournament I would really hate to miss!

Due to the confusion on this matter, I took the time to email Kurt Slep of Sound Choice below is his statement. PLEASE before you post a reply read and reread as I do not intend to play messenger or continue to repost information that keeps getting deleted due others responses.

Slep-Tone Entertainment Corporation has, to date, filed five federal lawsuits in the Northern District of Florida against various defendants throughout the state of Florida , alleging piracy of its SOUND CHOICE® branded karaoke accompaniment tracks. Recently, the judges supervising four of those cases suggested that joining defendants from around Florida in a single suit was inappropriate, when those defendants do not operate together, and asked Slep-Tone's attorneys to justify that filing, which they did. On July 7, the judge handling three of the cases entered an order that confirmed that Slep-Tone's strategy of suing defendants from around Florida together in a single suit was legally proper in all respects. However, the judge stated that it was unfair to require defendants who live in the Middle or Southern districts to travel to the Northern District to defend the suit there. He therefore ordered that defendants who live in these districts would have their cases transferred to their respective Middle or Southern district, which has recently been done.

We disagree that it is unfair to require defendants who were properly joined in a suit to defend themselves in any place where they are subject to jurisdiction. But the judge has broad discretion to make this order. For that reason, we believe an appeal of the decision would be a waste of resources. Unfortunately, for the defendants, the net effect of this order will be to make it more costly for them to settle with us, because forcing us to administer multiple suits in each of the defendants’ local districts increases our costs, and those costs must be passed on to the defendants through either a settlement or a judgment. Henceforth we will simply file suit against 15 or more defendants in a single suit as we did in the past, but each suit will include defendants from only their local district rather than across the state.

What we want to make clear, however, is that although the existing suits against the transferred defendants will have new case numbers, those suits are not being "re-filed," nor have any defendants been dismissed (except those whom we have voluntarily dismissed as part of a settlement). The cases will continue in their respective new districts as though they were originally filed there. Moreover, Slep-Tone remains committed to ending karaoke piracy in Florida and elsewhere in the country and we will continue to provide our full support to legitimate Karaoke Hosts who have been harmed by unfair competition from pirate karaoke operators. Now that this situation has been resolved in FL, we intend to once again vigorously pursue judgments against those defendants who were sued previously and who have not settled. Additionally, new suits are being prepared against defendants who have not yet been sued, and now that the court has confirmed that even otherwise unrelated defendants who infringe Slep-Tone's intellectual property can be sued together, we will begin filing them shortly. With the judge’s ruling, expect to see an INCREASE in the number of defendants sued in each district in the future with a corresponding INCREASE in the base settlement cost to reflect Slep-Tone’s higher investigation and filing costs.

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"Integrity is choosing your thoughts, words and actions based on your principles and values rather than for your personal gain."
Unknown
"if a man has integrity, nothing else matters, If a man has no integrity, nothing else matters."
Lee McGuffey

Thanks Athena. This is awesome news!

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"Just Say NO, To Justin Bieber & His Beatle Haircut"

Well, that was fun, but doesn't negate my post one wit. As for adding to JUDGEMENTS,..... um, yeah, OK.

Waiting breathlessly for the court appearances..... (giggle)..

" With the judge’s ruling, expect to see an INCREASE in the number of defendants sued in each district in the future with a corresponding INCREASE in the base settlement cost to reflect Slep-Tone’s higher investigation and filing costs."

Judge's ruling? Well, FINALLY. What's it been....THREE YEARS?

Holding breath... ( )*( ) Yup, may look like something else....but holding breath....

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"No Contests, No Divas, Just A Good Time!"

" Disc based and loving it..."

HeHeHe glad you clarified that Joe...I'm holding my breath too

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"Integrity is choosing your thoughts, words and actions based on your principles and values rather than for your personal gain."
Unknown
"if a man has integrity, nothing else matters, If a man has no integrity, nothing else matters."
Lee McGuffey

Also expect the legal hosts that wish to continue to use the Sound Choice product to have to pay increased costs in the form of audits and fees. This is in order to help pay for Slep-Tone's higher investigation and filing costs. If you want to fight a war you always have to raise money to fight it, and what better place to get it from, than the group that hopes to gain the most from a victory?

kjathena wrote:

Due to the confusion on this matter, I took the time to email Kurt Slep of Sound Choice below is his statement. PLEASE before you post a reply read and reread as I do not intend to play messenger or continue to repost information that keeps getting deleted due others responses

But you are exactly "playing messenger" simply by posting this here as Kurt's secretary. If Kurt felt this was important enough for anyone HERE to read, he would have posted it here himself. But if he can dupe you into doing it for him, that's less work he has to do isn't it? And, as long as you'll take the responsibility for posting it, he can easily claim he doesn't have a clue about it because HE never posted that information... you did.

I would like to know who was ever "confused?"

No Lone Ranger it is the pirates that will be paying the cost of the lawsuits not the LEGAL hosts....However the costs to prove you are legal(and receive your covenant not to sue) has already risen and may rise again in the future...so any on the fence may wish to decide and request your audits as soon as possible...it has helped me get new business and run out pirates to boot

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"Integrity is choosing your thoughts, words and actions based on your principles and values rather than for your personal gain."
Unknown
"if a man has integrity, nothing else matters, If a man has no integrity, nothing else matters."
Lee McGuffey

The point is if you continue to use Sound Choice products, you will have to pay something, the solution is to refuse to use the product in the show. That is the only way you will be 100% in compliance, and not be feeding the beast. All the money raised, from where ever will be funneled back to Sound Choice to be used as they deem fit. Unless you are auditing their books how do you know how the money raised is being spent?

Better start pulling Chart Buster and Stellar too if that is your stance...no way I'm gonna pull anything I paid for and My DH is the disc hoarder extraordinaire....Just picked up a 4th set of Pioneer LD's and 300 assorted used Original CDG's last week for a 4th system when we need it...not sure of the quality yet as I havent had time to look them all over BUT the price was sure right

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"Integrity is choosing your thoughts, words and actions based on your principles and values rather than for your personal gain."
Unknown
"if a man has integrity, nothing else matters, If a man has no integrity, nothing else matters."
Lee McGuffey

The reason Chart Buster and Stellar haven't jumped in so far is that it is still unsure if Sound Choice will prevail or not. They have decided to sit on the side lines, and not invest so much money in suits, until some type of legal precedent is established. Oh by the way I have no Stellar so that is one less manu I have to worry about. I'm glad to hear you are such a collector, this was a hobby before I decided to try my hand as a host. Don't feed the beast!