Patrick Collins, Inc. v. Does 1-2590
Filing
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ORDER by Judge Maria-Elena James denying 24 Doe Defendant 1581's Motion to Dismiss for Lack of Jurisdiction (cdnS, COURT STAFF) (Filed on 11/15/2011)
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UNITED STATES DISTRICT COURT
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Northern District of California
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PATRICK COLLINS, INC.,
No. C 11-2766 MEJ
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Plaintiff,
v.
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For the Northern District of California
UNITED STATES DISTRICT COURT
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DOES 1-2,590,
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ORDER DENYING MOTION TO
QUASH (DOE DEFENDANT NO. 1581)
Defendants.
_____________________________________/
Docket Nos. 24, 28
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On June 7, 2011, Plaintiff Patrick Collins, Inc. filed this lawsuit against 2,590 Doe
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Defendants, alleging that Defendants illegally reproduced and distributed a work subject to
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Plaintiff’s exclusive license, (“Real Female Orgasms 10”), using an internet peer-to-peer file sharing
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network known as BitTorrent, thereby violating the Copyright Act, 17 U.S.C. § 101-1322. Compl.
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¶¶ 6-15, Dkt. No. 1. On September 22, 2011, the Court granted Plaintiff’s Application for Leave to
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Take Limited Expedited Discovery. Dkt. No. 12. The Court permitted Plaintiff to serve subpoenas
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on Does 1-2,590’s Internet Service Providers (“ISPs”) by serving a Federal Rule of Civil Procedure
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45 subpoena that seeks information sufficient to identify the Doe Defendants, including the name,
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address, telephone number, and email address of Does 1-2,590. Id. at 11. Once the ISPs provided
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Does 1-2,590 with a copy of the subpoena, the Court permitted Does 1-2,590 30 days from the date
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of service to file any motions contesting the subpoena (including a motion to quash or modify the
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subpoena). Id.
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Now before the Court is a Motion to Quash/Dismiss, filed by Doe Defendant No. 1581. Dkt.
Nos. 24, 28. In the motion, Doe Defendant provides the following reasons: (1) Doe does not reside
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in the Northern District of California; (2) Doe is a medical practice in Ohio; (3) the IP address in
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question is no longer associated with Doe’s internet account; (4) Doe’s practice does not do business
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outside of Ohio and Pennsylvania; and (5) Doe does not engage in any conduct whatsoever directed
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toward this forum.
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Pursuant to Rule 45(c)(3), if the subpoena would cause undue burden to Defendant, it must
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be quashed. The subpoena, however, does not require any obligation from Defendant; rather, it was
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directed at the putative defendants’ ISPs. As such, there is no undue burden.
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Further, any motion to dismiss based on jurisdictional grounds is premature. See, e.g., New
Sensations, Inc. v. Does 1-1,745, 2011 WL 2837610, at *1 (N.D. Cal. Jul. 18, 2011); Call of the
Pictures, LLC v. Does 1–5,000, No. 10-0873, WL 1807438, at *8 (D.D.C. May 12, 2011). Rule
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For the Northern District of California
Wild Movie, LLC v. Smith, No. 10-0455, 2011 WL 1807416, at *9 (D.D.C. May 12, 2011); Voltage
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UNITED STATES DISTRICT COURT
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12(b)(2) permits defendants to move to dismiss for lack of personal jurisdiction. Although the Doe
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Defendant moves the Court to dismiss the action against him for lack of personal jurisdiction, he is
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not yet a defendant. If and when Plaintiff names him as a defendant, he will be able to raise this
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defense. Once Plaintiff amasses enough evidence and names the Does, it will then have the burden
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to present a prima facie case supporting personal jurisdiction over defendants. See Harris Rutsky &
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Co. Ins. Servs., Inc. v. Bell & Clements Ltd., 328 F.3d 1122, 1129 (9th Cir. 2003). At that time, the
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Doe Defendant may present his affidavit asserting that he has never engaged in business with
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Plaintiff and that his activities with the forum state do not meet the requisite minimum contacts to
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establish personal jurisdiction. With evidence from both sides, jurisdiction will be decided on a full
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record. At this time, however, without any named defendants, the motion is not yet ripe. The
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motion is DENIED WITHOUT PREJUDICE and may be brought again once Plaintiff names the
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Doe Defendant as a defendant or when the Doe Defendant has identified himself.
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IT IS SO ORDERED.
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Dated: November 15, 2011
_______________________________
Maria-Elena James
Chief United States Magistrate Judge
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