Strike 3 Holdings, LLC v. Doe

Background

Strike 3 Holdings, LLC brought this copyright-infringement action against John Doe, identified as the internet subscriber assigned to Internet Protocol address 74.73.184.145. Strike 3 alleged that the defendant directly infringed its copyrights by downloading and distributing thirty-six movies through the BitTorrent network. The complaint and proposed summons had been filed under seal, and the defendant had been served by substitution on a family member. The opinion materials state that the defendant was unrepresented as of the filing and that the defendant did not speak English, based on information conveyed to Strike 3's lawyer by a person claiming to be the defendant's friend.

Request to Postpone the Conference

An initial pretrial conference was scheduled for December 2, 2020. Before that conference, the parties were required to confer and submit a joint letter and a proposed case-management plan and scheduling order. Strike 3 asked for a two-week postponement to give John Doe additional time to retain a lawyer and to allow the parties more time to conduct a meaningful conference about case deadlines. Strike 3 had mailed the defendant draft case-management materials and a copy of the court's earlier order.

Ruling

Judge John P. Cronan ordered that the December 2 conference be adjourned to January 19, 2021, at 3:00 p.m. The parties must submit the required joint letter by January 12, 2021. The court also ordered Strike 3 to mail a copy of the order to John Doe by November 30, 2020, and to file proof of service by December 1, 2020. This order addressed scheduling and case-management matters; it did not decide whether copyright infringement occurred or resolve the parties' other legal issues.