LawRank LLC v. LawRankSEO.com
- Haywood Gilliam
- 4:21-cv-04515
- U.S. District Court · Northern District of California
- 4
In LawRank LLC v. LawRankSEO.com, Judge Gilliam denied a motion for email service and early discovery without prejudice.
LawRank LLC's requests for alternative email service and early discovery were denied without prejudice; the opinion did not resolve the underlying claims against LawRankSEO.com.
What happened
LawRank LLC sued LawRankSEO.com, alleging cybersquatting, trademark infringement, unfair competition, and false advertising. LawRank LLC said it had been unable to serve LawRankSEO.com.
LawRank LLC asked to serve the defendant by email and to obtain early discovery from the domain registrar and web-hosting provider to identify the defendant. The court found that email service was not shown to be reasonably likely to provide notice: one email address did not work, and there was no response to another. The court also found that LawRank LLC had not shown good cause for early discovery because it provided only limited information about its efforts to identify and serve the defendant.
In LawRank LLC v. LawRankSEO.com, Judge Haywood S. Gilliam, Jr. denied the motion without prejudice. The court noted that LawRank LLC could need to use other efforts, such as a private investigator, to locate and serve the defendant.
The detailed version
- LawRank LLC v. LawRankSEO.com · No. 4:21-cv-04515
- Haywood Gilliam
- Sept. 29, 2021
Background
LawRank LLC sued LawRankSEO.com. According to the complaint, LawRank LLC is a legal marketing agency that offers digital marketing services for law firms through LawRank.com, while LawRankSEO.com also offers digital marketing services for law firms through LawRankSEO.com. LawRank LLC asserted claims for cybersquatting, trademark infringement, unfair competition, and false advertising.
LawRank LLC stated that it had been unable to serve LawRankSEO.com. It asked the court for permission to serve the defendant by email and for permission to obtain information about the defendant's identity through early discovery directed to the domain-name registrar and website-hosting provider.
Legal standards
Federal Rule of Civil Procedure 4 permits service on individuals and corporations using methods authorized by the law of the state where the federal court is located or where service occurs. Under California law, a court may authorize an alternative method of service if it is reasonably calculated to give the party actual notice and an opportunity to respond.
Early discovery is discovery permitted before the parties' usual discovery-planning conference. Courts generally require a showing of good cause, meaning that the need for expedited discovery must outweigh the potential prejudice to the responding party.
Court's analysis
The court denied the request for email service. LawRank LLC identified an email address on LawRankSEO.com's website and another address in the domain registration. But LawRank LLC reported that the first address was not functioning, and it had received no response after sending the summons and complaint to the second address. The record also contained no evidence that the defendant conducted business through or otherwise used either address. The court found that LawRank LLC had not provided enough detail about its efforts to identify and serve the defendant or explained why email service would be more successful.
The court also denied the request for early discovery. LawRank LLC described only generally the steps it had taken to locate and identify LawRankSEO.com. On that record, the court found no good cause to authorize subpoenas to the domain registrar and hosting provider. The court noted that locating and personally serving a party may require persistence or creativity and that retaining a private investigator is a routine option.
Disposition
The court DENIED the motion WITHOUT PREJUDICE. The opinion did not dismiss the underlying claims or resolve their merits.
Read the full 4-page opinion on CourtListener, the free public archive maintained by the Free Law Project.