Strike 3 Holdings, LLC v. Doe
- Gregory Woods
- 1:22-cv-09591
- U.S. District Court · Southern District of New York
- 3
In Strike 3 Holdings LLC v. John Doe, Judge Woods granted early discovery, allowing a subpoena to identify an internet subscriber.
Strike 3 Holdings LLC may obtain early third-party discovery from RCN to identify the subscriber associated with the specified IP address. John Doe and RCN received objection deadlines, and the disclosed information is subject to use and confidentiality restrictions.
What happened
In Strike 3 Holdings LLC v. John Doe, Strike 3 Holdings asked to serve a subpoena on RCN before the parties held their required initial meeting. The subpoena seeks the name and address of the subscriber using IP address 207.237.171.125.
The court found that Strike 3 Holdings showed good reason to obtain the information early, even though it requested the subpoena without first notifying the other side. The court allowed the subpoena and set deadlines for RCN and the subscriber to object or ask that it be canceled.
Judge Gregory H. Woods ordered that any disclosed information be used only to protect and enforce the rights described in the complaint and not be shared further without court permission. The order did not decide the merits of any possible objection to the subpoena.
The detailed version
- Strike 3 Holdings, LLC v. Doe · No. 1:22-cv-09591
- Gregory Woods
- Nov. 17, 2022
Background
Strike 3 Holdings LLC sought permission to serve a subpoena on RCN before the parties conferred as required by Federal Rule of Civil Procedure 26(f). The subpoena seeks the name and address of the subscriber associated with IP address 207.237.171.125. The defendant is identified in the caption as John Doe, a subscriber assigned that IP address.
Legal standard
Rule 26(d) generally prevents a party from seeking discovery before the Rule 26(f) conference unless the court authorizes early discovery. The court applied a flexible reasonableness-and-good-cause standard, with especially careful review because Strike 3 Holdings requested expedited discovery on an ex parte basis, meaning without advance notice to the opposing party.
The court noted that Strike 3 Holdings relied on a test used in cases involving efforts to preserve an objecting party’s anonymity. The court explained that whether a later motion to cancel or limit the subpoena would succeed was not before it, and the order should not be treated as a decision on that issue.
Ruling and order
The court found that Strike 3 Holdings satisfied the reasonableness and good-cause standard and GRANTED its motion for permission to serve a third-party subpoena before the Rule 26(f) conference.
The order provides that:
- Strike 3 Holdings may serve RCN with a subpoena under Rule 45 seeking the name and address of the subscriber associated with IP address 207.237.171.125. A copy of the order must accompany the subpoena. - Within seven days after service, RCN must reasonably try to identify the subscriber and provide the subscriber with the subpoena and the order. If RCN cannot identify the subscriber with a reasonable degree of technical certainty, it must notify Strike 3 Holdings’s counsel. - RCN has 21 days after service to move to cancel the subpoena or otherwise object. The identified subscriber has 14 days after receiving the subpoena from RCN to do the same. - If there is no motion or objection, RCN must provide the requested information within 21 days after notifying the subscriber. - Strike 3 Holdings may use the information only to protect and enforce the rights described in its complaint. The information may not be disclosed to anyone other than Strike 3 Holdings and its counsel without further court permission.
The clerk was directed to terminate the motion listed at Docket No. 7. The order does not state what claims Strike 3 Holdings asserted in its complaint.
Read the full 3-page opinion on CourtListener, the free public archive maintained by the Free Law Project.