For the first time ever, a federal judge has ordered the first reimbursement of expenses to a defendant in the music industry’s “war on piracy”. Capitol Records has been ordered to pay nearly $70,000 to Deborah Foster to cover attorney fees and litigation costs she incurred when she was wrongfully sued for illegally downloading music.

The case, which started in 2004, was eventually won by Foster, She then petitioned for recovery of expenses with an itemized claim of more than $114,000. After reviewing the claim the Judge Lee R. West ruled on Monday that Foster was entitled to receive $68,685.23.

The judge disagreed with Capitol’s argument that Foster wasn’t entitled to an award because she had every opportunity to stop fighting the case and settle saying, “Throughout the course of this litigation, the plaintiffs have alleged that had the defendant appropriately assisted their copyright infringement investigation and litigation, she could have avoided being sued. The court has rejected this argument on numerous occasions and declines to entertain it yet again. The defendant was entitled to litigate the claims the plaintiffs chose to bring against her and … she is entitled to recover reasonable attorneys’ fees.”

The RIAA issued a statement saying, “We respectfully believe that this ruling is in error and is an isolated occurrence. Our interest in these cases is enforcing the rights of the record companies and artists, while fostering an online environment where the legal marketplace can flourish and the music industry can invest in the new bands of tomorrow. In the handful of cases where the person engaging in the illegal activity in the household is not the person responsible for the ISP account, we look to gather the facts quickly and do our best to identify the appropriate defendant.”

In the thousands of suits the RIAA has slammed down upon people, only six have sought to recover costs from their battles. Deborah Foster is the first to win that battle.

Ray Beckerman, an attorney who has represented some defendants in the illegal downloading suits, predicted that the Oklahoma court decision “will be seen as a landmark” for several reasons. “The court has indicated that the RIAA’s theory for trying to pin liability on a parent is marginal,” Beckerman said. “The court has held that the RIAA cannot insulate itself from liability for attorneys fees by just dropping the case, and the award will encourage (a) defendants to fight back, and (b) lawyers who have not yet done so to join the fight.”

Hurrah.