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Arthur T Knackerbracket has found the following story:
In April of 2018, the Twin Galaxies video game scoreboard announced its finding that well-known classic game score-chaser Billy Mitchell did not achieve his Donkey Kong high scores on unmodified arcade hardware, stripping him of all his accumulated records in the process. Since then, Mitchell has oft claimed that he would fight the decision every way he could. And in September 2019, Mitchell and his lawyers said in a statement they would be forced to "resort to legal recourse" if Twin Galaxies didn't rescind its decision and reinstate Mitchell's scores.
But court filings obtained by Ars Technica show that Mitchell had already filed suit against Twin Galaxies in a Los Angeles County court as early as April 2019.
Mitchell's defamation lawsuit—misfiled as "William James Mitchell vs. Twin Galexies, LLC [sic]" and not reported in previous press accounts—has been slowly building to a planned July anti-SLAPP hearing, where Twin Galaxies will make use of a statute that lets defendants quickly strike down lawsuits that threaten "public participation." Twin Galaxies says in court filings that its statements regarding Mitchell's scores were not defamatory and that finding in Mitchell's favor "would have chilling effects on the freedom of speech."
"My law firm and I are fully confident that we will establish a prima face [sic] case for all parts of the lawsuit," Mitchell told Ars Technica in a Twitter Direct Message.
(Score: 3, Interesting) by looorg on Tuesday May 05 2020, @12:41PM (9 children)
So who would have the burden of proof in a case like this? Twin showing he is a cheater or Mitchell showing that he isn't one? Twins have rules about how these scores should be documented and witnessed so isn't in really on him to show that it was all above board? Perhaps they will have to start with inspections of the machines or only allow them to take place on or at certain events.
So is this Mitchells living? Is there good money in being the King of Kong (interesting movie btw) or is this just arcade nerd bragging rights?
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/The_King_of_Kong [wikipedia.org]
(Score: 5, Informative) by rigrig on Tuesday May 05 2020, @12:56PM (2 children)
In the happy fantasy land where the "truth" matters, the evidence of cheating [donkeykongforum.com] seems pretty solid. They didn't remove his scores just because he couldn't prove they were legit, but after they actually spend a great deal of effort investigating and came to the conclusion it was impossible for all of his recordings to be made on the genuine arcade machine he claimed.
By now the lawyers are involved though, so rather than "burdens of proof", we have arrived at the stage of legal technicalities and comparing who has the deepest pockets to throw at legal fees.
No one remembers the singer.
(Score: 5, Interesting) by Aegis on Tuesday May 05 2020, @02:20PM (1 child)
Courts are the only place "burdens of proof" actually matter.
This is a defamation lawsuit. So, he needs to prove that not only did he not cheat but they knew he didn't cheat and lied about it.
Long story short: he ain't got shit.
(Score: 0) by Anonymous Coward on Tuesday May 05 2020, @03:12PM
Not to mention that in the US truth is an absolute defense against defamation. If they were so conservative as to wait until they were able to eliminate all other possibilities, then the likelihood of them winning is extremely high.
I haven't been following this closely enough to know all the details, but I do see a bunch of videos on youtube talking about this. Even if he did theoretically win the suit, at this point, his reputation is garbage to the point where nobody would believe any future claims he had about setting records. At least not without thoroughly examining them.
(Score: 5, Funny) by DannyB on Tuesday May 05 2020, @02:14PM (5 children)
I accuse Martin Shkreli of molesting squirrels in the public park!
Disprove that.
(Isn't it up to one making an assertion to prove it?)
=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=
Judge: . . . but prosecutor, wasn't Martin Shkreli locked up where he belongs when the alleged molesting incident took place?
Martin Shkreli: (interrupting . . .) Your honor, how can you believe the prosecutor's witness? I did not molest squirrels in the park! How can you believe a witness who doesn't even know the difference between a squirrel and a chipmonk?
Judge: Mr. Shkreli, please do not interrupt, but is there any relevant difference between a squirrel and a chipmonk?
Martin Shkreli: Your honor, a chipmonk has much softer fur that feels good against your skin. I still maintain that I did not molest any squirrels in the public park.
When trying to solve a problem don't ask who suffers from the problem, ask who profits from the problem.
(Score: 4, Funny) by Runaway1956 on Tuesday May 05 2020, @02:41PM (3 children)
Dude, if you're fast enough to molest a squirrel, you're pretty damned fast. If you're fast enough to molest a chipmunk, you must be a holdover from Mt. Olympus or something. Ain't NOBODY HUMAN that fast!!
(Score: 0) by Anonymous Coward on Tuesday May 05 2020, @03:08PM
That proves it was Usain Bolt! Case closed, take the black man away.
(Score: 1, Interesting) by Anonymous Coward on Tuesday May 05 2020, @07:34PM (1 child)
In some places, chipmunks will walk right up and eat out of your hand. They have no fear of humans. I've seen it personally, and of course they tell everybody not to feed them and nobody listens. It varies from place to place. I've never seen it with squirrels, but I've heard that it happens with them some places too.
(Score: 3, Funny) by Pslytely Psycho on Wednesday May 06 2020, @12:12AM
Yes, and frequently the chipmunks break out into song after feeding them......
Alex Jones lawyer inspires new TV series: CSI Moron Division.
(Score: 3, Funny) by Thexalon on Tuesday May 05 2020, @03:53PM
Martin Shkreli must be big pals with Bob Murray [youtube.com].
The only thing that stops a bad guy with a compiler is a good guy with a compiler.
(Score: 3, Disagree) by epitaxial on Tuesday May 05 2020, @12:42PM (10 children)
I hope the judge finds him in contempt for wasting the court's time on trivial bullshit.
(Score: 2) by DannyB on Tuesday May 05 2020, @02:17PM
Oracle protests! APIs must be copyrightable, because Oracle couldn't find any actual copyrighted code being used by Google in Android.
When trying to solve a problem don't ask who suffers from the problem, ask who profits from the problem.
(Score: 1, Interesting) by Anonymous Coward on Tuesday May 05 2020, @03:17PM (6 children)
You shouldn't, often times cases require the discovery process and subpoenas to establish whether or not the lawsuit should be taken to trial. Judges have the ability to issue a summary judgment if there's anything so serious as to make the case unwinnable. This is for things like lack of standing or if the suit doesn't allege a cause of action that would result in a judgment being entered even if all the evidence was interpreted to the benefit of the plaintiff.
The problem with holding somebody in contempt for filing a BS suit, is that by the time you determine whether or not it's a BS suit, you'd have to already involve the courts. In practice, anything that BS is likely to be tossed out early in the process without proceeding to trial.
(Score: 3, Interesting) by ikanreed on Tuesday May 05 2020, @03:38PM (5 children)
I vacillate back and forth on the question of whether it'd be right for there to be a "that's fucking stupid" short circuit in the legal system. There's so much bullshit is fucking stupid, but the amount of abuse a corrupt or incompetent judge could leverage that for is scary.
(Score: 0) by Anonymous Coward on Tuesday May 05 2020, @03:52PM (1 child)
That's why we make it so expensive - to keep justice free of poor people stuff and concentrate on things that matter.
(Score: 0) by Anonymous Coward on Tuesday May 05 2020, @04:19PM
We make it expensive, because it is expensive to have the related officers of the court and attorneys investigating what happened in an effort to get a result that approximates a just outcome. Any system is going to have mistakes made and miscarriages of justice, but minimizing that requires resources. We could save a ton of money by just throwing out the safeguards, but I don't really think that people would really like to live in a country like that.
Requiring that expenditures be appropriate to the case before being awarded legal fees is part of how that's handled. Another is to require the losing party to pay. I'd like to see limits placed on things related to guessing or manipulating the jurors. Hiring consultants to help interpret the evidence is legitimate, hiring consultants to try and manipulate the jurors should be illegal.
(Score: 1, Informative) by Anonymous Coward on Tuesday May 05 2020, @04:15PM (1 child)
That's what summary judgments are for. They deal with situations where the evidence can't support a ruling for the plaintiff, the plaintiff can't prove that they were harmed or it's flat out not a violation of the law or contract even if all the evidence is assumed to be true and complete.
Throwing a suit out for other reasons is something that's risky as it can lead to situations where people can engage in injurious conduct without worry even though the conduct is a violation of either the law or a relevant contract.
(Score: 2) by ikanreed on Tuesday May 05 2020, @06:31PM
Summary judgements are when both sides agree on enough relevant facts for there to be no need of finding of fact. I.e. the judge can fairly make a decision based on the summaries of the case provided by both sides.
(Score: 2) by TrentDavey on Wednesday May 06 2020, @10:08PM
Is that different from vacillating to and fro?
Upon reflection, can we vacillate round and round?
Is it improper to mention vacillating in and out?
Now I'm all hot and bothered.
Enquiring minds want to know!
(Score: 4, Interesting) by ikanreed on Tuesday May 05 2020, @03:35PM (1 child)
Unfortunately, the normal "punishment" for time wasting pointless lawsuits is just having your case thrown out, and given that there is a disagreement about the material facts of the case a judge would be hard pressed to find cause for such a summary ruling.
To get a contempt of court charge, you have to disrupt the proceedings themselves. If he falsified evidence of non-cheating and brought that to court, he could go to jail for that though.
(Score: 2) by Thexalon on Tuesday May 05 2020, @04:04PM
It is also possible in some cases for the plaintiffs to end up on the hook for the defendant's legal fees.
The only thing that stops a bad guy with a compiler is a good guy with a compiler.
(Score: 0) by Anonymous Coward on Tuesday May 05 2020, @03:56PM
Billy should go back to singing songs and doing what he's good at. Why would he want to become famous as the gaming rebel who took on big industry and get all this free publicity?
(Score: 0) by Anonymous Coward on Tuesday May 05 2020, @04:18PM (2 children)
There is an easy fix for all of this.
Break out a decently restored machine. Stand him in front of it. Go for the high score. Done. That this has not happened does not look good on him. He is one of the top players of this game in the world. There is little doubt about that. The way he did it though looks super shady....
(Score: 0) by Anonymous Coward on Tuesday May 05 2020, @04:22PM
That doesn't quite address it, all that would do is establish him as one of the top players, not necessary the top player. Often times those crazy high scores are the result of not just practice and study, but also having a good day. To make matters worse, that score was recorded years ago and it's entirely possible that his reflexes aren't quite what they were.Especially, if he hasn't been practicing recently.
(Score: 2) by FatPhil on Wednesday May 06 2020, @03:53PM
Great minds discuss ideas; average minds discuss events; small minds discuss people; the smallest discuss themselves
(Score: 2) by All Your Lawn Are Belong To Us on Tuesday May 05 2020, @05:48PM
When reached for comment, Mr. Kong said, "nnnnnnaarggk! nnnnnnaarggk! nnnnnnaarggk!"
Bum-di-bum-be-dum-de-dum doodley-doodley-doodley-dooo!
This sig for rent.
(Score: 3, Touché) by The Vocal Minority on Wednesday May 06 2020, @04:45AM
...like Donkey Kong!
(Score: 0) by Anonymous Coward on Wednesday May 06 2020, @09:58AM
Aside from the court case, who in their right mind would subject themselves to the same annoying sound effects that game has and the limited amount of music?
For hours and hours and hours and hours?
Garbage.
I'd rather play frogger and let someone shoot me twice in the back of the head.