Mirza v. Doe 1-2

Background

Plaintiffs Dr. Muhammad Mirza and Allied Medical and Diagnostic Services, LLC brought claims for defamation and tortious interference with contract based on allegedly false, misleading, disparaging, and defamatory reviews posted on Yelp.com by John Does #1-2. The supplied text states that plaintiffs brought the action on January 2, 2020.

On January 8, 2020, the court granted plaintiffs’ request for expedited discovery from Yelp.com. The court’s earlier order directed plaintiffs to explain the requested discovery and show good cause before seeking expedited discovery from additional third parties, including Internet service providers.

Request for Additional Discovery

After receiving information from Yelp.com, plaintiffs said they had a name, email address, and Internet address associated with John Doe #1’s review, but no mailing address or legal name sufficient to identify and serve that defendant. Plaintiffs stated that the Internet address indicated that Optimum Online was the relevant Internet service provider. They asked for leave to serve Optimum Online with a subpoena under Federal Rule of Civil Procedure 45, seeking information or documents that could identify John Doe #1 and provide a physical address.

Plaintiffs argued that good cause existed because they had a potentially valid claim but could not proceed against John Doe #1 without identifying and serving that defendant. They also asserted that they had tried to identify the defendant using the information from Yelp.com and other available resources.

Ruling

Judge Ronnie Abrams granted plaintiffs’ request for leave to serve Optimum Online with a third-party subpoena. The order stated that plaintiffs must follow the instructions in the court’s January 8, 2020 order when serving Optimum Online. The ruling concerned expedited discovery and did not decide whether plaintiffs would ultimately prevail on their defamation or tortious-interference claims.