Strike 3 Holdings, LLC v. John Doe Subscriber Assigned IP Address 76.133.135.222

Summary

The United States District Court for the Northern District of California grants Strike 3 Holdings, LLC’s ex parte application for leave to serve a Rule 45 subpoena on Comcast Cable before the Rule 26(f) conference. The subpoena may seek the name and address of the subscriber associated with the specified IP address, subject to notice, confidentiality, preservation, and use restrictions.

Holdings

1. Good cause existed to permit Strike 3 Holdings to serve Comcast Cable with a Rule 45 subpoena before the Rule 26(f) conference to obtain the true name and address of the subscriber assigned the identified IP address.
2. Authorization of the subpoena did not preclude John Doe from filing a Rule 12(b)(6) motion or prejudge the merits of such a motion.
3. Strike 3 was required to provide notice through the ISP or directly to John Doe, use the information only to protect and enforce rights asserted in the complaint, avoid public disclosure without court permission, redact identity references and file them under seal, and preserve subpoenaed information pending resolution of any timely motion to dismiss.

Questions Presented

1. Whether good cause existed to permit service of a third-party Rule 45 subpoena before the Rule 26(f) conference to identify the John Doe defendant.
2. What notice, confidentiality, preservation, and use restrictions should govern the subpoena and the information disclosed in response.

Disposition

other