Strike 3 Holdings, LLC v. Doe
- Philip Halpern
- 7:23-cv-11232
- U.S. District Court · Southern District of New York
- 2
In Strike 3 Holdings v. Doe, Judge Halpern allowed early subpoenas to identify Doe, subject to notice and use limits.
Strike 3 Holdings, LLC may seek John Doe’s name and address from Spectrum and certain other identified internet service providers. John Doe may receive notice if Spectrum qualifies as a cable operator, and the disclosed information is restricted to enforcing the rights described in the complaint.
What happened
Strike 3 Holdings, LLC sued John Doe, identified in the complaint by an Internet Protocol address. Strike 3 asked to subpoena Spectrum, the internet service provider, before the parties held their required initial discovery meeting.
The court found good cause and allowed Strike 3 to serve Spectrum with a subpoena seeking Doe’s true name and address. The court also allowed subpoenas to other internet service providers identified through that process.
Judge Halpern required a copy of the order to accompany the subpoenas and, if Spectrum qualified as a cable operator, to be sent to Doe as notice. Strike 3 may use the information only to protect and enforce the rights described in its complaint.
The detailed version
- Strike 3 Holdings, LLC v. Doe · No. 7:23-cv-11232
- Philip Halpern
- Jan. 26, 2024
Background
Strike 3 Holdings, LLC moved for permission to serve a third-party subpoena before the parties’ Rule 26(f) conference. A Rule 26(f) conference is the parties’ required early meeting about discovery. The defendant is identified in the case caption as John Doe, a subscriber assigned Internet Protocol address 67.243.103.226.
Court’s ruling
The court found that Strike 3 had shown “good cause” to serve Spectrum, identified as the internet service provider. The court allowed Strike 3 to serve Spectrum with a subpoena under Federal Rule of Civil Procedure 45 requiring Spectrum to provide the defendant’s true name and address. Strike 3 must attach a copy of the order to the subpoena.
The order also permits Strike 3 to serve the same type of Rule 45 subpoena on any other internet-service provider identified in response to a subpoena as providing internet services to one of the defendants.
Notice and use restrictions
If Spectrum qualifies as a “cable operator” under 47 U.S.C. § 522(5), the order requires compliance with 47 U.S.C. § 551(c)(2)(B), including sending a copy of the order to the defendant as notice. Strike 3 may use information disclosed in response to a subpoena served on Spectrum only to protect and enforce the rights described in its complaint.
Disposition
The order permits the requested early third-party subpoenas. The opinion does not separately state that the motion was “granted,” but its provisions authorize the requested discovery.
Read the full 2-page opinion on CourtListener, the free public archive maintained by the Free Law Project.