Dellaportas v. Shahin

Background

On October 29, 2025, the court denied Dellaportas's letter motion seeking to compel non-party Microsoft Corporation to comply with a subpoena. The court concluded that any motion to compel should be heard in the Western District of Washington. On November 12, 2025, Dellaportas sought reconsideration, arguing that Cleary v. Kaleida Health supported hearing the motion in the Southern District of New York.

Court's Analysis

The court concluded that Cleary did not support Dellaportas's position. It explained that a challenge to a third-party subpoena should be heard in the district where compliance with the subpoena is required. The court discussed Cleary's treatment of the location where documents are produced and noted that, for a corporation, compliance generally occurs where the relevant employees or records are located.

Microsoft had previously indicated that the employees responsible for searching for and producing information responsive to Dellaportas's subpoena were in the Western District of Washington. The court therefore concluded that compliance would be required there. It distinguished Cleary because the relevant non-parties in that case provided services from locations in Rochester, New York, meaning that the documents would presumably be produced there.

Ruling

The order reaffirmed the court's prior conclusion that a motion to compel Microsoft's compliance should be heard in the Western District of Washington. It did not decide whether Microsoft was required to comply with the subpoena or resolve the underlying dispute over the requested information. Judge Valerie Figueredo issued the order as a United States Magistrate Judge.