Naked City

Dewey Coffman (Photo By John Anderson)

Austinite Dewey Coffman's spam-fighting hobby just got a lot more profitable. On Thursday, Coffman agreed to take a $4,000 out-of-court settlement with spammer Steve Miller of Plano, whom Coffman had sued under the Texas Electronic Mail and Solicitation Act.

"He sent me one spam and it cost him, or I should say it cost his insurance companies, $2,000 each," said Coffman. "I bet he'll think twice before doing it again."

Coffman said he agreed to settle only because the Precinct 2 Travis Co. Justice of the Peace court in which he had filed the case was so backed up that he couldn't get a timely court date. But the experience hasn't deterred him from using the power of the courts to fight for the right of a Viagra-free inbox.

"This has inspired my attorney, that's for sure," said Coffman. "He's ready to roll."

Coffman has already chosen his next target: UT student and ace spammer Ryan Pitylak. Coffman collected much of the evidence (i.e., mountains and mountains of spam) for the case that Texas Attorney General Greg Abbott filed against Pitylak in January; now he plans to use that same evidence in his own case. In addition, he said Abbott's decision to file charges under the Texas Deceptive Trade Practices Act and the federal CAN-SPAM Act, in addition to Texas' anti-spam law, has set a precedent that will make his cases easier.

"Until now, it's been a matter of figuring out which laws to file under, but now the attorney general's office has blazed a trail," said Coffman. Now, he says, "we're going to file under as many laws as possible, as often as possible."