Strike 3 Holdings, LLC v. Doe
- Nelson Roman
- 7:24-cv-04137
- U.S. District Court · Southern District of New York
- 2
In Strike 3 Holdings v. Doe, Judge Román allowed Strike 3 to subpoena Verizon Fios before a Rule 26(f) conference.
Strike 3 Holdings, LLC may seek the John Doe defendant’s name and address from Verizon Fios, and potentially from another identified Internet service provider. The defendant may receive notice if the statutory cable-operator provision applies.
What happened
In Strike 3 Holdings, LLC v. Doe, Strike 3 asked to serve a subpoena on Verizon Fios before the parties held the required Rule 26(f) conference. The defendant was identified in the complaint as a subscriber assigned a specified Internet Protocol address.
The court found good cause for early discovery and allowed Strike 3 to subpoena Verizon Fios for the defendant’s true name and address. Strike 3 may also subpoena another Internet service provider identified in Verizon Fios’s response. Any information obtained may be used only to protect and enforce the rights described in the complaint.
Judge Nelson S. Román issued the order on June 28, 2024, and directed the clerk to terminate the motion.
The detailed version
- Strike 3 Holdings, LLC v. Doe · No. 7:24-cv-04137
- Nelson Roman
- June 28, 2024
Background
Strike 3 Holdings, LLC sued a John Doe subscriber assigned Internet Protocol address 173.62.126.145. Strike 3 requested permission to serve a third-party subpoena before the parties held a Rule 26(f) conference, which is the conference where parties generally discuss the case and discovery.
Court’s ruling
The court found that Strike 3 had shown “good cause” to seek the information before that conference. The court allowed Strike 3 to serve Verizon Fios with a subpoena under Federal Rule of Civil Procedure 45. The subpoena may require Verizon Fios to provide the defendant’s true name and address, and Strike 3 must attach a copy of the order.
The court also allowed Strike 3 to serve the same type of subpoena on any other Internet service provider identified in Verizon Fios’s response as having provided Internet services to one of the defendants.
If Verizon Fios qualifies as a “cable operator” under the cited federal statute, it must send the defendant a copy of the order when disclosing personal identifying information under the subpoena. Strike 3 may use information obtained through the subpoena only to protect and enforce the rights described in its complaint.
The order authorizes the early subpoena and directs the clerk to terminate the motion at docket entry 8.
Read the full 2-page opinion on CourtListener, the free public archive maintained by the Free Law Project.