CBS/Paramount sues to stop Axanar
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I believe AxaMonitor has a screenshot of it on their Twitter feed.
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Amaris
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Ssshhh... don't tell anyone. *wink* *wink*Just for posterity...
At this point, I think Alec's strategy is "bring as much money in as we can, as fast as we can" . He can hide it in *somebody's* differed salary, or some other nefarious transfer of income. He's probably already created a new accounting company that charges Axanar $250K for it's services. (joking, but not joking)
Lawyers in Axanar case filed for a protective order on July 12 to govern the use of confidential information gathered during both sides' ongoing discovery process. The lawsuit has not yet "gone away." Also: our backgrounder on what discovery entails.
I love how it says, "If you purchase this item". It's like they don't give a damn any more.Just for posterity...
No wonder they're so eager to hock their garbage - they're counting on the financials being kept under wraps...........
I'm not sure they ever did.
I'm not sure they ever did.
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As Terry Pratchett once wrote "When the least they could do to you was everything, then the most they could do to you suddenly held no terror"
Recent donor comments on Axanar's Kickstarter page are not kind, by contrast with the sanitized commentary on Axanar's Facebook pages. Here's a sample from the Kickstarter comments thread:
« If you were staring down the barrel of over half a million in refunds of money you probably already spent on non-reward related "expenses" for a project you advertised as requiring 3 months to fulfill and being done 18 months ago you'd probably be incommunicado as well.
If you look back at the Axanar sites blogs on crowdfunding they spend a lot of time talking about how to maximize the money you bilk people for, but NONE on actually fulfilling the rewards.
The comments made seem to indicate that Alec was assuming this was all free money and missed the bit about actually having to fulfill the rewards or refund. »
If you look back at the Axanar sites blogs on crowdfunding they spend a lot of time talking about how to maximize the money you bilk people for, but NONE on actually fulfilling the rewards.
The comments made seem to indicate that Alec was assuming this was all free money and missed the bit about actually having to fulfill the rewards or refund. »
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At this point it should be clear to even the most rabid fan that Axanar is never going to see light of day...at least certainly not in the promised form...at what point can donors ask for legal help in getting refunds. Do they have to wait till the trial in January...can they contact kickstarter...or do they need to start pepper the attorney general in California for help? More and more this is looking like a scam...particularly based on what we have learned about previous ventures by this group. Asking for a friend :P.
Sooner is better than later.
KS and IGG won't help you. Their TOS essentially say, "What goes on is between the backer and project owner. Leave us out of it."
You can try going through your financial institution, but many of them have time limits on chargebacks. I suspect backers will have to plead their cases individually.
You can always contact the California AG's office and file a complaint.
Other than that, as far as I know, you'd have to get your own lawyer and sue or get a class action suit rolling.
I am not a lawyer, however, (nor do I play one on TV) so don't take my word as gospel on anything.
I'd get the ball rolling with the AG,
After CBS and Paramount take Alec to the cleaners it'll be exciting to see what the perks in his next Kickstarter will look like:
- $0: Alec crashes on your couch for a little while
- 1 McDonalds Cheeseburger: Alec crashes on your couch for a while and shares 1 (one) story about an unspeakable thing he did with one of those Star Trek costumes he used to own.
- 1 McDonalds cheeseburger and a medium order of fries: Alec crashes on your couch for a while and autographs your copy of his Garth of Izar/Sumner Redstone fanfic during one of his lucid moments.
It's only "kept under wraps" until the Trial. Once it's entered into evidence during the Trial. it becomes a matter of public record. FYI - most lawyers file such protective orders during discovery. IF you notice, the Axamonitor blurb says 'jointly' meaning both sides filed and the same time; and both sides have no issue with such a protective order. Nothing out of the ordinary at all - and I would have been surprised NOT to see such an order filed.
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There is no need to hesitate and, in fact, there are a lot of reasons not to.
A few ideas, in the order of when I found them in my notes (
):- File a complaint with the California Attorney General's office
- Donors can band together and file a class action suit, probably venued in California, so choose a lawyer with class action experience who is admitted to practice there
- Donors can act individually and bring cases in small claims court (this is most cost-effective if you have a fairly substantial amount in controversy, e. g. probably over $100 or so, and you can easily get to court in California)
- Start talking to a local crusading consumer affairs reporter (California would be best) and see if they will investigate
- Take it up with your local representative (but keep in mind it's an election year in the US, so all bets are off)
- Try to get a charge back from your credit card company or PayPal
- Complaint to Kickstarter and IndieGoGo (they will refer you to their Terms of Service, and then you get to refer them to where their TOS's state they won't take on projects where the project owner can't prove IP ownership. Hey, it's worth a shot)
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