In Fortnite, developer Epic is taking action against a blatant, underage cheater. The mother defended him in a letter to the court, but fails with the tactic in court. This is likely serious for the 14-year-old.
This is the backstory: A 14-year-old was sued by Epic. He is accused of promoting a hack for Fortnite on YouTube. When Epic had the video taken down, the boy appealed against it. Subsequently, Epic filed a lawsuit. At that time, the company behind Fortnite did not yet know that the cheater was a minor. However, they had him investigated by private detectives.
Mother writes an appalled letter to the court
“He shouldn’t have been able to enter into a contract”: The mother of the 14-year-old reached out to the court with a letter in November 2017 and essentially stated: They are suing a 14-year-old. This can’t be true. The letter has become public.
In the letter, the mother demanded that the court dismiss the lawsuit. She cited, among other things, that minors cannot enter into a legally binding contract. They would need parental consent for that. She had not given it.
Court sees letter as a submission: The court interpreted the informal letter from the mother as a motion to dismiss the lawsuit. This made it necessary for Epic to respond. This has now also happened. The court has now made a decision on whether the lawsuit will be dismissed or not.
Court rejects motion to dismiss
The lawsuit from Epic is valid: The judge ruled in favor of Epic. According to the judge, the court must hold such decisions in a light that appears advantageous to the accuser. In that sense, Epic’s motion is plausible, and the mother’s objection is dismissed.
What happens next? The mother now has 14 days to respond to the situation and draft a reply to Epic’s lawsuit. Otherwise, Epic may request a default judgment.
Probably just a slap on the wrist: It is believed that Epic will not demand exorbitant sums here, but rather that the goal is to resolve the case. With previous cheaters, Epic has settled out of court. However, the legal dispute with the 14-year-old has been dragging on for months.
Gamers hate cheaters more than they sympathize with a 14-year-old
This is what it’s really about: The mother probably expected that Epic would shy away from the public reaction of “Oh God, the evil company is suing a poor 14-year-old” and retract. But Epic did not receive any backlash for this. Instead, most gamers say: “They should sue that little brat properly.” The aversion to cheaters here is greater than the sympathy for a 14-year-old. Especially since the 14-year-old has behaved quite brazenly.
The whole crazy story about the 14-year-old cheater and what he actually did has been summarized here:
