Strike 3 Holdings v. John Doe Subscriber Assigned IP Address 73.241.199.134
- 3:25-cv-08483
- U.S. District Court · Northern District of California
- 3
In Strike 3 Holdings v. John Doe, the court allowed a subpoena seeking subscriber information from an internet provider.
Strike 3 Holdings, LLC may seek the defendant’s identifying information through subpoenas to Comcast and other identified internet service providers. The defendant and any affected subscriber may receive notice and challenge a subpoena, and the providers must preserve the information while any challenge is pending.
What happened
In Strike 3 Holdings, LLC v. John Doe Subscriber Assigned IP Address 73.241.199.134, Strike 3 Holdings asked for permission to serve a subpoena before the parties’ required conference. The subpoena sought the defendant’s true name and address from Comcast Cable Communications, LLC, which the opinion identifies as the internet service provider.
The court found good cause and allowed the subpoena. It also allowed subpoenas to other internet service providers identified through the first subpoena. The order required notice to subscribers, allowed subscribers and providers 30 days to challenge a subpoena, limited use of the information to enforcing the claims in the complaint, and required the providers to preserve the information.
The court also ordered provisional sealing of the defendant’s name and identifying information. The opinion’s judge’s name is not clearly readable in the supplied text; the order was issued by the court on October 31, 2025.
The detailed version
- Strike 3 Holdings v. John Doe Subscriber Assigned IP Address 73.241.199.134 · No. 3:25-cv-08483
- Oct. 31, 2025
Background
Strike 3 Holdings, LLC filed an ex parte application for permission to serve a third-party subpoena before the parties held the conference required by Federal Rule of Civil Procedure 26(f). The requested subpoena was directed to Comcast Cable Communications, LLC, identified in the order as the internet service provider assigned the internet protocol address listed in the complaint.
Ruling
The court found that Strike 3 Holdings had established good cause to serve the subpoena. The order allowed Strike 3 Holdings to serve Comcast with a Rule 45 subpoena requiring Comcast to provide the defendant’s true name and address. The subpoena must include a copy of the order.
The court also authorized Strike 3 Holdings to serve a similar Rule 45 subpoena on any internet service provider identified in response to a subpoena as providing internet services to the defendant. If Comcast qualifies as a cable operator under 47 U.S.C. § 522(5), the order requires it to comply with 47 U.S.C. § 551(c)(2)(B), including notifying the subscriber by sending a copy of the order.
Limits and Procedure
Strike 3 Holdings may use information obtained through the subpoena only to protect and enforce the rights asserted in its complaint. The provider must serve the subscriber with copies of the subpoena and order within 30 days after the provider is served. Each subscriber and provider has 30 days after service to challenge the subpoena, including by asking the court to quash or modify it. If no subscriber challenges the subpoena within that period, the provider has 10 additional days to produce the responsive information. The provider must preserve the subpoenaed information until production or final resolution of a timely motion to quash.
The defendant’s name and personal identifying information must be provisionally filed under seal and not otherwise disclosed. After service on the defendant, the court may require the defendant to seek permission to proceed anonymously. The court issued the order on October 31, 2025. The judge’s name is not clearly readable in the supplied opinion text.
Read the full 3-page opinion on CourtListener, the free public archive maintained by the Free Law Project.