Fortnite: Epic Games Moves For Default Judgement In Lawsuit Against 14-Year-Old Cheater

Epic Games Moves For Default Judgement In Lawsuit Against 14-Year-Old Fortnite Cheater

Last year, developer Epic Games made the decision to crack down hard on Fortnite cheaters by filing lawsuits against several repeat offenders, one of whom ended up being a 14-year-old boy. As the Fortnite cheater is a bit on the young side, his mother stepped in to defend him by sending Epic a letter stating that it “has no capability of proving” its claim, and that even if the developer did, she had at no point given her son consent to play the game, and as such the lawsuit should be dropped.

No further responses from the defendant or his mother were made, so Epic filed for a default judgment on February 13. That could have been the end of it, though the court ruled that the letter that was sent from the defendant’s mother should be treated as a motion to dismiss the case, thereby forcing Epic to jump through more hoops, which they did earlier this week. According to Epic, “because Defendant has not carried his burden of proving Epic’s Complaint fails to allege sufficient facts to state a claim for relief that is plausible on its face, his ‘motion to dismiss’ must be denied.”

Epic Games Moves For Default Judgement In Lawsuit Against 14-Year-Old Fortnite Cheater

In addition to Epic’s statement that the arguments made in the letter were baseless, the developer also addressed the mother’s argument that the defendant is a minor, stating that “if an infant enters into any contract subject to conditions or stipulations, he cannot take the benefit of the contract without the burden of the conditions or stipulations,” citing an old case from 2008 that subdued the infancy defense as one of the parties involved retained benefits from the contract. As the Fortnite cheater still appears to be enjoying said benefits – AKA playing Fortnite – the infancy defense does not apply.

Should the courts agree with Epic, another request for a default judgment will likely be issued. It is still unknown at this point what Epic Games plans on doing should its lawsuit bear fruit. The developer could sue for damages, though in a settlement reached late last year the Fortnite cheater promised never to do it again and was let off the hook.

Fortnite is now available for PC, PlayStation 4, and Xbox One.

So, thoughts on the ongoing lawsuit between Epic Games and the 14-year-old Fortnite cheater? Has Epic Games gone too far, or are they not doing enough? Let us know in the comments section below, and as always, stay tuned to Don’t Feed the Gamers for all the latest gaming and entertainment news! Don’t forget to follow DFTG on Twitter for our 24/7 news feed!

Ryan "Cinna" Carrier3026 Posts

Ryan is the Lead Editor for Don't Feed the Gamers. When he isn't writing, Ryan is likely considering yet another playthrough of Final Fantasy IX. He's also the DFTG cinnamon bun.

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