Walton International Group (USA), Inc v. Elizabeth Arden

Filing 12

ORDER by Judge Jeremy Fogel Granting 9 Ex Parte Application for an Order Authorizing Alternative Service. (jflc3, COURT STAFF) (Filed on 11/23/2009)

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ADORNO YOSS ALVARADO & SMITH

BRET A. FAUSETT (CA Bar No. 139420) [e-mail] IMANI GANDY (CA Bar No. 223084) [e-mail] ADORNO YOSS ALVARADO & SMITH A Professional Corporation 633 W. Fifth Street, Suite 1100 Los Angeles, CA 90071 Tel. [phone] Fax. [phone] Attorneys for Plaintiff Walton International Group (USA), Inc.

**E-Filed 11/23/09**

UNITED STATES DISTRICT COURT NORTHERN DISTRICT OF CALIFORNIA SAN JOSE DIVISION

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Walton International Group (USA), Inc., Plaintiff, v. Elizabeth Arden, and Does 1-20, Defendants.

Case No. C09-04721-JF Hon. Jeremy Fogel -----------------[PROPOSED] ORDER GRANTING PLAINTIFF'S EX PARTE APPLICATION FOR AN ORDER AUTHORIZING ALTERNATIVE SERVICE Action Filed: October 2, 2009

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-------------[PROPOSED] ORDER RE PLAINTIFF'S EX PARTE APPLICATION FOR ORDER AUTHORIZING ALTERNATIVE SERVICE
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Case No. C09-04721-JF

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ADORNO YOSS ALVARADO & SMITH

Plaintiff Walton International Group (USA), Inc.'s filed an ex parte application for an order authorizing alternate service on Defendant Elizabeth Arden of the summons and complaint filed on October 2, 2009. After full consideration of the evidence, having reviewed the papers in support of the ex parte application, the Court rules as follows: 1. Defendant in this case is the operator of an online website, located on the Internet at

www.complaintsboard.com. Defendant does not provide any contact information or physical address on its website. The Defendant's domain name registration for "complaintsboard.com," however, references a post office box in Sunnyvale, California, within this judicial district. 2. After reasonable diligence, Plaintiff has been unable to serve the Defendant, the

operator of the website Complaintsboard.com, at the address maintained by the Defendant in the whois database of domain name registrations. See, Affidavit of Service of Reasonable Diligence, filed November 13, 2009 (Docket No. 8). 3. Plaintiff has established that the Defendant can be contacted both through email and

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by service of papers on Melbourne IT, the registrar of the domain name Complaintsboard.com. Each of these methods of service is independently calculated to provide notice to the Defendant and an opportunity to respond to the Complaint. See, Rio Properties Inc. v. Rio International Interlink, 284 F.3d 1007 (9th Cir. 2002) (authorizing service by email on online entity operating Internet-based sports betting operation). 4. Accordingly, Plaintiff's ex parte application is granted authorizing alternative service

on Defendant as follows: a. Plaintiff is authorized to serve the Defendant by email at the following email

addresses: "[e-mail]" and "[e-mail]" (with the domain name "Complaintsboard.com" in the subject line of the email sent to "[e-mail]"); and, b. Plaintiff is authorized to serve the Defendant by and through service on the

Defendant's domain name registrar, Melbourne IT, which has agreed to "pass[] on important communication" to the registrant for its customers, such as this one, using Melbourne IT's private 2 -------------- ORDER RE PLAINTIFF'S EX PARTE APPLICATION [PROPOSED] Case No. C09-04721-JF
FOR ORDER AUTHORIZING ALTERNATIVE SERVICE
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ADORNO YOSS ALVARADO & SMITH

registration service. A summons and complaint is implicitly the type of "important communication" for which Melbourne IT has agreed to take responsibility. Plaintiff should serve Defendant by all the means authorized by Melbourne IT on its website, including service by (a) using the webform at http://www.melbourneit.com.au/cc/emailmanagement; (b) using the email address "[e-mail]"; and (c) by service upon each of Melbourne IT's offices in this jurisdiction, located at (i) 1900 Powell Street, Suite 1070, Emeryville, CA 94608 and (ii) 636 Ellis Street, Mountain View, CA, 94043. IT IS SO ORDERED.

DATED:

11/23/2009 HON. JEREMY FOGEL JUDGE OF THE U.S. DISTRICT COURT

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FOR ORDER AUTHORIZING ALTERNATIVE SERVICE
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Case No. C09-04721-JF