Patrick Collins, Inc. v. Does 1-2590

Filing 60

ORDER by Judge Maria-Elena James denying 43 Motion to Dismiss; denying 43 Motion for Protective Order (cdnS, COURT STAFF) (Filed on 12/1/2011)

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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 (IP ADDRESS 74.88.37.100)

Defendants.
_____________________________________/

Re: Docket No. 43

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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 and Motion to Proceed Anonymously, filed by
an anonymous Doe Defendant (IP Address 74.88.37.100). Dkt. No. 43. In the motion, the Doe

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Defendant argues that joinder is improper, that jurisdiction is lacking, and that venue is improper.

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As to joinder, the Court considered this issue at length in its previous order and found that Plaintiff

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presented a reasonable basis to argue that the Doe Defendants’ actions in this case may fall within

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the definition of “same transaction, occurrence, or series of transactions or occurrences” for

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purposes of joinder under Federal Rule of Civil Procedure 20(a). Dkt. No. 12 at 6-11. As such, this

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argument is without merit.

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As to jurisdiction and venue, the Court finds that any motion to dismiss based on these

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grounds is premature. See, e.g., New Sensations, Inc. v. Does 1-1,745, 2011 WL 2837610, at *1

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(N.D. Cal. Jul. 18, 2011); Call of the Wild Movie, LLC v. Smith, No. 10-0455, 2011 WL 1807416, at

*8 (D.D.C. May 12, 2011). Rule 12(b)(2) permits defendants to move to dismiss for lack of

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For the Northern District of California

*9 (D.D.C. May 12, 2011); Voltage Pictures, LLC v. Does 1–5,000, No. 10-0873, WL 1807438, at

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UNITED STATES DISTRICT COURT

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personal jurisdiction. Although the Doe Defendant moves the Court to dismiss the action against

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him for lack of personal jurisdiction, he is not yet a defendant. If and when Plaintiff names him as a

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defendant, he will be able to raise this defense. Once Plaintiff amasses enough evidence and names

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the Does, it will then have the burden to present a prima facie case supporting personal jurisdiction

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over defendants. See Harris Rutsky & Co. Ins. Servs., Inc. v. Bell & Clements Ltd., 328 F.3d 1122,

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1129 (9th Cir. 2003). At that time, the Doe Defendant may present his affidavit asserting that he has

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never engaged in business with Plaintiff and that his activities with the forum state do not meet the

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requisite minimum contacts to establish personal jurisdiction. With evidence from both sides,

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jurisdiction will be decided on a full record. At this time, however, without any named defendants,

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the motion is not yet ripe. The motion is DENIED WITHOUT PREJUDICE and may be brought

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again once Plaintiff names the Doe Defendant as a defendant or when the Doe Defendant has

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identified himself.

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IT IS SO ORDERED.

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Dated: December 1, 2011
_______________________________
Maria-Elena James
Chief United States Magistrate Judge

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