Strike 3 Holdings, LLC v. Doe
- Philip Halpern
- 7:25-cv-01291
- U.S. District Court · Southern District of New York
- 2
In Strike 3 Holdings v. John Doe, Judge Halpern allowed early subpoena discovery to identify the defendant through an internet provider.
Strike 3 Holdings, LLC may seek John Doe’s identifying information from Spectrum and potentially other identified internet service providers. John Doe may receive notice if Spectrum qualifies as a cable operator, and the disclosed information may be used only for the purposes stated in the complaint.
What happened
Strike 3 Holdings, LLC sued John Doe, identified in the complaint by an internet-protocol address. The court considered Strike 3’s request to obtain identifying information before the usual pretrial planning conference.
The court found that Strike 3 had shown good cause to serve Spectrum, the internet service provider, with a subpoena before that conference. The subpoena may seek John Doe’s true name and address, and may also be served on other internet providers identified in response to the subpoena.
Judge Philip M. Halpern granted the requested early discovery and imposed limits on it. If Spectrum is a cable operator, it must send John Doe a copy of the order, and Strike 3 may use the disclosed information only to protect and enforce the rights described in its complaint.
The detailed version
- Strike 3 Holdings, LLC v. Doe · No. 7:25-cv-01291
- Philip Halpern
- Mar. 3, 2025
Background
Strike 3 Holdings, LLC asked for permission to serve a third-party subpoena before the parties’ required Rule 26(f) conference. A Rule 26(f) conference is the initial meeting in which parties ordinarily discuss discovery and case management. The defendant is identified in the caption as John Doe, a subscriber assigned internet-protocol address 24.104.198.187.
Court’s Ruling
The court found that Strike 3 established “good cause” to serve Spectrum, identified as the internet service provider, before the Rule 26(f) conference. The court authorized Strike 3 to serve a Rule 45 subpoena. A Rule 45 subpoena is a formal demand for information or documents from a person or entity, including a nonparty.
The subpoena may require Spectrum to provide Strike 3 with the true name and address of the defendant to whom the provider assigned the internet-protocol address listed in the complaint. Strike 3 must attach a copy of the order to the subpoena. The court also authorized Strike 3 to serve the same type of subpoena on any other internet service provider identified in response as providing internet services to one of the defendants.
If Spectrum qualifies as a “cable operator” under the cited federal statute, it must comply with the statute’s requirement that the subscriber be notified of a court-authorized disclosure of personal identifying information. The order directs that this notification be made by sending John Doe a copy of the order. Strike 3 may use information disclosed in response to a subpoena served on Spectrum only to protect and enforce the rights described in its complaint.
Disposition
The order grants Strike 3 permission to conduct this early third-party subpoena discovery. It does not state a final ruling on the underlying claims.
Read the full 2-page opinion on CourtListener, the free public archive maintained by the Free Law Project.