Strike 3 Holdings, LLC v. Doe
- Nelson Roman
- 7:25-cv-01296
- U.S. District Court · Southern District of New York
- 2
In Strike 3 Holdings v. Doe, Judge Roman granted requests to file a motion for early identity discovery and adjourn a scheduling conference.
Strike 3 Holdings, LLC and the unidentified Doe defendant are directly affected. Verizon Fios may be involved in the requested discovery, but this order did not authorize service of a subpoena.
What happened
Strike 3 Holdings, LLC sued an unidentified internet subscriber, called John Doe, alleging that the subscriber infringed its copyrighted works through the BitTorrent network.
Because Strike 3 does not know the defendant’s name or address, it asked to file a motion seeking permission to subpoena Verizon Fios before the parties’ required initial conference. The requested subpoena would seek information identifying the subscriber associated with the relevant internet address.
Judge Roman granted Strike 3’s requests to file that motion and to adjourn any initial scheduling conference. The order did not itself grant permission to serve the subpoena.
The detailed version
- Strike 3 Holdings, LLC v. Doe · No. 7:25-cv-01296
- Nelson Roman
- Mar. 27, 2025
Background
Strike 3 Holdings, LLC sued a defendant identified as John Doe because it did not know the defendant’s name or address. Strike 3 alleged that the defendant used the BitTorrent file-distribution network to infringe Strike 3’s copyrighted works. Strike 3 stated that the defendant’s internet service provider, Verizon Fios, could use the relevant internet protocol address and its records to identify the subscriber.
Request
Strike 3 asked for permission to file a motion under Federal Rule of Civil Procedure 26(d)(1) seeking early discovery before the parties’ required Rule 26(f) conference. Specifically, Strike 3 sought leave to request a third-party subpoena to Verizon Fios for information identifying the Doe defendant. Strike 3 also asked the court to adjourn any initial scheduling conference until the defendant was identified and served.
Ruling
Judge Nelson S. Roman granted Strike 3’s requests to file the motion seeking leave to issue the third-party subpoena and to adjourn any initial Rule 16 scheduling conference. The order did not itself grant leave to serve the subpoena or decide whether Verizon Fios must provide the requested information.
Classification and effect
This is a procedural order concerning early discovery and case scheduling. It allows Strike 3 to pursue a motion aimed at identifying the defendant; it does not decide the copyright-infringement claim.
Read the full 2-page opinion on CourtListener, the free public archive maintained by the Free Law Project.