Strike 3 Holdings, LLC v. Doe
- Nelson Roman
- 7:25-cv-01292
- U.S. District Court · Southern District of New York
- 2
In Strike 3 Holdings v. Doe, Judge Roman waived the pre-motion conference requirement and granted leave to file a motion seeking an early subpoena to identify the defendant.
Strike 3 Holdings, LLC received permission to file a motion seeking early discovery from Optimum Online. The unidentified Doe defendant may be affected if the later subpoena motion is granted, but this order did not issue the subpoena or identify the defendant.
What happened
Strike 3 Holdings, LLC sued an unnamed Internet subscriber, identified only by an Internet Protocol address, alleging copyright infringement involving material distributed through the BitTorrent network. The plaintiff said the subscriber’s Internet service provider, Optimum Online, could identify the person.
In Strike 3 Holdings, LLC v. Doe, the plaintiff asked to file a motion for permission to serve a third-party subpoena before the parties’ required initial discovery meeting. It also asked to delay any initial scheduling conference until the defendant was identified and served.
Judge Nelson S. Roman waived the pre-motion conference requirement and granted the plaintiff leave to file a motion seeking a third-party subpoena. The Clerk was directed to terminate the motion at ECF No. 6. The order did not decide whether copyright infringement occurred or whether the subpoena itself would ultimately be issued.
The detailed version
- Strike 3 Holdings, LLC v. Doe · No. 7:25-cv-01292
- Nelson Roman
- Mar. 3, 2025
Background
Strike 3 Holdings, LLC brought a copyright-infringement action against a John Doe defendant. The defendant’s name and address were not known. The complaint identified the defendant through an Internet Protocol address that the plaintiff alleged had been used to infringe its copyrighted works through the BitTorrent file-distribution network.
The plaintiff stated that it owns three subscription-based adult websites and the copyrights to the movies distributed through those websites. It alleged that Optimum Online, the Internet service provider associated with the Internet Protocol address, maintained records that could identify the subscriber assigned that address at the relevant time.
Requested discovery
The plaintiff requested permission under Federal Rule of Civil Procedure 26(d)(1) to file a motion seeking early discovery. Ordinarily, a party may not serve discovery before the parties’ Rule 26(f) conference unless the court permits it. The requested discovery was a third-party subpoena to Optimum Online seeking information that could identify the Doe defendant.
The plaintiff argued that early discovery was justified because it expected to show an initial, legally sufficient copyright claim; would make a specific request; had no alternative way to learn the defendant’s identity; needed the information to proceed; and believed the defendant had only a limited expectation of privacy in the alleged transmission or distribution of copyrighted material. These were arguments the plaintiff said it would present in its later motion; the court did not decide those issues in this order.
Ruling
Judge Nelson S. Roman waived the pre-motion conference requirement and granted Strike 3 Holdings leave to file a motion for a third-party subpoena. The Clerk of Court was directed to terminate the motion listed at ECF No. 6.
The order did not grant the subpoena itself, decide whether Optimum Online must disclose information, determine the Doe defendant’s identity, or resolve the copyright-infringement claims. The opinion text also does not state that the court granted the plaintiff’s separate request to adjourn or avoid an initial scheduling conference.
Read the full 2-page opinion on CourtListener, the free public archive maintained by the Free Law Project.