Strike 3 Holdings, LLC v. Doe
- 1:25-cv-03222
- U.S. District Court · Southern District of New York
- 2
In Strike 3 Holdings v. Doe, the court allowed early subpoena discovery after finding good cause.
Strike 3 Holdings, LLC may seek the identifying information of the John Doe defendant from Verizon Fios and potentially other identified internet service providers. Verizon Fios and any other subpoenaed provider may object to compliance, and Verizon Fios may have notice obligations if it qualifies as a cable operator.
What happened
In Strike 3 Holdings, LLC v. Doe, Strike 3 Holdings asked to subpoena Verizon Fios before the parties held their required initial planning conference. The defendant was identified in the caption as John Doe, associated with a specified internet address.
The court found good cause for the early subpoena. It authorized Strike 3 Holdings to ask Verizon Fios for the defendant’s true name and address and to subpoena other identified internet service providers in the same way.
The court also limited use of the information to protecting and enforcing Strike 3 Holdings’ rights in the complaint and required certain notice to the subscriber. The court, whose judge was not identified in the opinion text, directed the clerk to terminate the motion.
The detailed version
- Strike 3 Holdings, LLC v. Doe · No. 1:25-cv-03222
- May 14, 2025
Background
Strike 3 Holdings, LLC moved for permission to serve a third-party subpoena before the parties’ Rule 26(f) conference, the required early meeting to plan the case. The defendant is identified as “JOHN DOE subscriber assigned IP address 108.41.122.180.” The proposed subpoena would be served on Verizon Fios, which the order calls the internet service provider.
Ruling
The court found that Strike 3 Holdings had established “good cause” to serve the subpoena before the Rule 26(f) conference. The court authorized Strike 3 Holdings to serve Verizon Fios with a subpoena under Federal Rule of Civil Procedure 45 seeking the defendant’s true name and address. The subpoena must include a copy of the order, and Verizon may raise objections to complying with it.
The court also authorized Strike 3 Holdings to serve the same type of subpoena on any service provider identified in response to a subpoena as providing internet services to one of the defendants. If Verizon Fios qualifies as a cable operator under federal law, it must send the defendant a copy of the order when disclosing the identifying information. Strike 3 Holdings may use information disclosed in response to the subpoena only to protect and enforce its rights stated in the complaint.
Disposition
The order authorized the early third-party subpoena and directed the clerk to terminate the motion at docket entry 6. It did not decide the underlying claims against the defendant. The opinion text does not identify the judge by name.
Read the full 2-page opinion on CourtListener, the free public archive maintained by the Free Law Project.