Strike 3 Holdings, LLC v. Doe
- Ronnie Abrams
- 1:25-cv-04659
- U.S. District Court · Southern District of New York
- 2
In Strike 3 Holdings v. Doe, Judge Abrams allowed early subpoenas to identify the Doe defendant and identified internet-service providers.
Strike 3 Holdings, LLC may seek the identity and address of John Doe from Verizon Fios and, if identified, another internet-service provider. The order also affects the defendant’s notice rights and limits Strike 3’s use of the subpoenaed information.
What happened
Strike 3 Holdings, LLC sued John Doe, identified as the subscriber assigned Internet Protocol address 68.129.225.112. Strike 3 asked to serve a subpoena on Verizon Fios before the parties held their required early case-management conference.
The court found good cause for the early subpoena. It allowed Strike 3 to use a Rule 45 subpoena to ask Verizon Fios for the defendant’s true name and address, and to subpoena another internet-service provider identified in response to that subpoena.
The order also required notice to the defendant if Verizon Fios qualified as a cable operator and limited use of the information to protecting and enforcing Strike 3’s rights in the complaint. Judge Ronnie Abrams issued the order on June 23, 2025.
The detailed version
- Strike 3 Holdings, LLC v. Doe · No. 1:25-cv-04659
- Ronnie Abrams
- June 23, 2025
Background
Strike 3 Holdings, LLC filed this case against John Doe, described in the caption as the subscriber assigned Internet Protocol address 68.129.225.112. Strike 3 moved for permission to serve a subpoena on Verizon Fios before the parties’ conference required by Rule 26(f), which is an early meeting about organizing discovery and the case.
Court’s Analysis
The court found that Strike 3 had shown “good cause” to seek the information before that conference. The order authorized Strike 3 to serve Verizon Fios with a Rule 45 subpoena, a legal demand for information from a nonparty, requiring Verizon Fios to provide the defendant’s true name and address. Strike 3 must attach a copy of the order to the subpoena.
The order also authorized Strike 3 to serve the same type of subpoena on any other internet-service provider identified in response to a subpoena as providing internet service to one of the defendants.
If Verizon Fios qualified as a cable operator under the cited federal statute, the order required it to send a copy of the order to the defendant so that the defendant would be notified of the disclosure. Strike 3 may use information produced in response to the subpoena only to protect and enforce the rights asserted in its complaint.
Disposition
The court allowed Strike 3 to serve the authorized third-party subpoenas before the Rule 26(f) conference. The order did not decide the underlying claims or determine whether the defendant was liable. Judge Ronnie Abrams signed the order.
Read the full 2-page opinion on CourtListener, the free public archive maintained by the Free Law Project.