Strike 3 Holdings, LLC v. Doe
- Nelson Roman
- 7:25-cv-04675
- U.S. District Court · Southern District of New York
- 2
In Strike 3 Holdings v. Doe, Judge Roman granted Strike 3’s request to file a motion seeking early subpoena discovery and adjourn a scheduling conference.
Strike 3 Holdings, LLC may file a motion seeking early discovery from Verizon Fios to identify the John Doe defendant, and any initial scheduling conference will be adjourned. The order also affects the unidentified defendant and Verizon Fios as the potential recipient of the requested subpoena.
What happened
In Strike 3 Holdings, LLC v. Doe, Strike 3 said an unidentified internet subscriber used BitTorrent to infringe its copyrighted movies. Strike 3 knew the defendant only by an internet protocol address assigned by Verizon Fios.
Strike 3 asked to file a motion for permission to serve Verizon Fios with a subpoena before the parties’ required early meeting about discovery. The subpoena would seek information identifying the John Doe defendant. Strike 3 also asked to delay any initial scheduling conference until the defendant was identified and served.
Judge Nelson S. Roman granted both requests: Strike 3 may file the motion seeking permission for the third-party subpoena, and any Rule 16 scheduling conference may be adjourned. The Clerk was directed to terminate the motion listed as ECF No. 6.
The detailed version
- Strike 3 Holdings, LLC v. Doe · No. 7:25-cv-04675
- Nelson Roman
- June 17, 2025
Background
Strike 3 Holdings, LLC alleged that an unidentified defendant used the BitTorrent file-distribution network to directly infringe Strike 3’s copyrights. Strike 3 stated that it owns three subscription-based adult websites and the copyrights to the movies distributed through those websites. The defendant was identified in the case only as “John Doe” because Strike 3 did not know the person’s name or address.
Strike 3 said the relevant internet protocol address was assigned by Verizon Fios, the internet service provider. According to Strike 3, the provider’s records could connect that address to a customer, but providers generally keep those records for only a short time.
Requests
Under Federal Rule of Civil Procedure 26(d)(1), discovery generally cannot begin before the parties hold a Rule 26(f) conference unless the court permits it. Strike 3 asked for permission to file a motion seeking leave to serve Verizon Fios with a third-party subpoena before that conference. The requested discovery was intended to identify the Doe defendant.
Strike 3 also asked the court to adjourn any initial scheduling conference under Rule 16, and not to schedule such a conference until the defendant was identified and served. Strike 3 stated that its planned motion would address the factors courts commonly consider for early identification discovery, including whether it had shown a plausible copyright-infringement claim, whether the request was specific, whether other means of identifying the defendant existed, whether the information was central to the case, and whether the defendant had only a limited expectation of privacy.
Ruling
Judge Nelson S. Roman granted Strike 3’s request to file a motion seeking leave to file the third-party subpoena and granted its request to adjourn any Rule 16 conference. The order did not itself state that the subpoena was authorized; it granted permission to file the motion seeking that authorization. The Clerk of Court was directed to terminate the motion at ECF No. 6.
Read the full 2-page opinion on CourtListener, the free public archive maintained by the Free Law Project.