Former Prenda Law Attorney Paul Duffy Dies

Former Prenda Law Attorney Paul Duffy Dies

CHICAGO — Former Prenda Law Attorney Paul Duffy, 55, died Monday from heart and alcohol-related conditions, according to a report.

Duffy was a partner in the now-dissolved Prenda Law, which was notorious for exacting payments from porn piracy defendants through court-approved subpoenas.

Duffy had partnered with attorneys John Steele and Paul Hansmeier at Prenda Law, which closed shop in 2013 after U.S. District Judge Otis Wright in Los Angeles sanctioned the three for deceiving the court in a copyright infringement case. 

Prenda Law attorneys allegedly created shell companies in order to file copyright infringement and computer hacking suits to exploit court subpoena powers and extort settlements, typically about $3,400 per defendant, according to court records.

Currently, the former Prenda Law partners are awaiting a 9th U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals ruling after they asked the court to toss sanctions from Wright, who said in a May 2013 opinion that Prenda Law “outmaneuvered the legal system" in their porn piracy cases representing adult companies AF Holdings LLC and Ingenuity 13 LLC — purportedly started up by the law firm.

According to Prenda Law’s appellate counsel, the attorneys should prevail in the appeal and the sanctions should be thrown out entirely because the firm wasn’t given the opportunity to defend themselves after its attorneys invoked the 5th Amendment in front of Wright. Prenda Law’s counsel said that Wright imposed criminal contempt penalties without extending criminal contempt procedural protections.

Just recently, Duffy along with Steele also were sanctioned in the case Lightspeed Media Corp. vs. Anthony Smith for engaging in “unreasonable, willful obstruction of discovery in bad faith."

Prenda Law, in recent months, was reportedly the subject of a federal probe, as well.

According to the Madison Record, the specific causes of Duffy’s death were atherosclerotic cardiovascular disease and chronic ethanolism. He died at a Chicago-area hospital.

Related:  

Copyright © 2025 Adnet Media. All Rights Reserved. XBIZ is a trademark of Adnet Media.
Reproduction in whole or in part in any form or medium without express written permission is prohibited.

More News

UK Lawmaker Calls for Appointment of 'Porn Minister'

Baroness Gabrielle Bertin, the Conservative member of Parliament who recently convened a new anti-pornography task force, is calling for the appointment of a “minister for porn,” according to British news outlet The Guardian.

FSC Toasts Jeffrey Douglas for 30 Years of Service

n the very same evening when the adult industry was hit hard by the Supreme Court ruling supporting Texas’ controversial age verification law, HB 1181, members of the Free Speech Coalition board, staff and supporters gathered to celebrate Jeffrey Douglas’ 30 years as board chair — a fitting reflection of his reputation as an eternal optimist.

Hookup Hotshot Adds TobyDick.com

Hookup Hotshot (HUHS) has added U.K. paysite TobyDick.com to its network.

TTS Opens UK Testing Location

Talent Testing Service (TTS) has opened a new U.K. location in Ware, Hertfordshire.

FSC: Age-Verification Laws Go Into Effect South Dakota, Georgia, Wyoming on July 1

The Free Speech Coalition (FSC) has published a statement regarding new age verification laws set to go into effect tomorrow in South Dakota, Georgia, and Wyoming.

Leana Lovings, Shay Sights Front 'Substance' Parody From Brazzers

Leana Lovings stars with Shay Sights in the latest release from Brazzers, a parody of "The Substance.”

FSC Responds to Supreme Court Decision on Texas AV Law

The Free Speech Coalition (FSC) has released a statement responding to last week's Supreme Court decision on FSC v. Paxton, the Texas age verification law.

Sex Work CEO Debuts Upgraded 'GPTease' AI Assistant

Sex Work CEO has introduced the new Canvas in-chat editing feature to its AI-powered, NSFW text generator, GPTease.

Little Puck Stars in Latest Episode of 'The Bottom Floor' From Adult Time

Little Puck stars in the second episode of Adult Time series “The Bottom Floor,” titled “The Second Coming.”

Haley Spades Stars in Latest From Immoral

Haley Spades stars with Charlie Dean, Matt Bird, and Dean Van Damme in a new three-part release from Immoral Productions, directed by "Porno Dan" Leal.

Show More